ICT symposium explores Caribbean’s twin challenge
By Kwame Joseph From T&T Guardian
The Caribbean region is today faced with the twin challenge of the rise in unemployment and a shortage of specific skills, said Ingrid Seerattan, acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Science and Technology, yesterday. She was speaking at ICTs 4 Skills Development and Entrepreneurship among Young People symposium held at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad hotel, Port-of-Spain.
“Many of our citizens, especially young people, are unemployed and yet sometimes employers cannot find people with the right skills. There is not a match of industry requirements with the skill sets of workers,” Seerattan said.
The latest statistics released by the Central Statistical Office in June 2014 showed T&T’s unemployment rate to be decreasing. The statistics show that T&T’s unemployment rate fell from 3.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 to a record low 3.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2013. These figures were posted in the Second Quarter Labour Force Bulletin, which is based on data collected in the Continuous Sample Survey of Population conducted between April and June 2013.
“As we focus on solutions to tackle rising unemployment, we need to address the needs of the economy. New jobs and new skills are continually emerging as globalisation, technological changes and aging societies generate new demands,” Seerattan said. She said the solution lies in creating an enabling environment.
“This is one of the reasons that the Government of T&T has accelerated its drive toward the implementation of the virtual classrooms and e-learning to prepare the nation’s children for the new world of technology and, most importantly, for jobs in the demanding high tech industries,” she said. “Whether the unemployment rate is actually rising or falling, the ICT symposium is to enhance the capabilities of those persons that can generate employment through business creation.”
For more on this story go to:
IMAGE: www.economist.com
