NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government has embarked on a major initiative aimed at zeroing in on deficiencies in specialized skills in the country’s workforce. On Monday, June 21, the Ministry of Labour in conjunction with the National Training Agency (NTA), the Department of Labour and the National Tripartite Council formally announced the launch of the National Workforce Skills Gap Survey 2021 during a press conference held at the NTA on Gladstone Road.
Executive Manager at the Ministry of Labour Robert Farquharson said that in 2012, a similar survey was conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the government of The Bahamas and the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC), which confirmed there were significant skills gaps in the Bahamian labor market and identified a number of sectors willing to employ Bahamians; however, there were insufficient trained and qualified Bahamians available to fill the vacancies including in the maritime, information technology, construction and medical and allied services sectors.
“This national survey is designed to engage employers and businessowners in The Bahamas by inviting them to answer 16 questions that will assist in the gathering of critical data to enable the Ministry of Labour to identify the skills required by the business community to make their enterprises more productive and efficient; design education and training programs to respond to the needs of employers and make the Bahamian labor force more competitive; provide the Department of Labour with additional data to improve the delivery of quality service to both jobseekers and employers that utilize the Public Employment Services Unit of the department; and provide important data to our policymakers when making decisions on the Bahamian labor market and policies and programs for our national development,” said Farquharson.
Executive Director of NTA Gadville McDonald said the survey is significant and is being conducted on a yearly basis.
“We are requesting the participation of all businesses and employers in every island of The Bahamas,” said McDonald. “This is an opportunity for you to assist in bridging the skills gaps in our country and partner up to improve the overall efficiency and productivity within your own organization. We believe that the current climate created huge opportunities to train, upskill and retrain the workforce of The Bahamas.”
Director of Labour John Pinder said he was excited by this proactive move by the government. He said it would address the labor needs of the country and significantly impact the need for foreign labour.
“Currently, the Department of Labour is issuing over 10,000 labor certificates annually for skilled labor. This includes renewals of certificates for laborers who are already working in the country. I believe that this survey would address this area. In the end, if Bahamians are trained to do the various jobs that require certain specialized skills, we would be able to reduce the amount of labor certificates issued by about 50 percent,” he said.
This survey is being sent to all businesses and employers throughout the country and is also accessible at http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KYGDNYP, ntabahamas.org and on the Ministry of Labour, NTA, Department of Labour and NTC Facebook pages. The results will be tabulated and provided to all relevant parties.
Loading ...
