Yaneek Page | Solving the unskilled labour challenge

Earlier this week, The Gleaner reported that Prime Minister Andrew Holness had expressed concerns regarding a shortage of skilled labour in the Jamaican marketplace and that the country may soon be forced to import skilled workers for the construction industry.

Through my entrepreneurial lens, the prime minister’s revelation and announcement would be music to the ears of many enterprising entrepreneurs as this is a major problem that appears, on the face of it, ripe for commercial solutions.

This writer has always argued that one of the most important roles entrepreneurs should play in the country is finding effective and efficient solutions to Jamaica’s pressing social problems. In so doing, the entrepreneur should also create value for which the consumer is willing to pay while accelerating economic growth and prosperity for its stakeholders and the country at large.

A MAJOR SOCIAL, ECONOMIC PROBLEM

Our highly unskilled and unproductive labour force is a major social and economic problem. It’s an issue that has been highlighted ad nauseum by our international development partners, including the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank. Indeed, equitable and sustainable economic growth is inextricably linked to a highly educated and skilled workforce.

Some critical questions entrepreneurs may need national leaders and policymakers to answer if they’re to help solve the problem of our unskilled labour force are:

• Which do they envision will come first: equitable and sustainable economic growth or a highly skilled and educated work force?

• If both are expected to occur simultaneously, what specific policies and actions will drive this?

• And critically, what role is envisioned for entrepreneurs and the private sector?

If entrepreneurs are to help tackle our labour crisis, data will be critical. On that note, there is good news on the horizon as the Statistical Institute of Jamaica will undertake Jamaica’s 15th national population and housing census beginning April 2022. Data collection is expected to end in December 2022 and a census report will it be produced thereafter, according to the Jamaica Information Service.

The upcoming report should provide much-needed population insights. Notwithstanding, the data we have now indicate that Jamaica’s labour force has fluctuated between 1.26 million people and 1.36 million people in recent years.

It is estimated that nearly 70 per cent of the labour force is unskilled or has no recognisable certification or qualification. This means that there are approximately 900,000 people or more desperately in need of training and upskilling, so they may participate as highly productive and ‘ready to work’ members of the labour force.

It is important to reiterate that a common feature of every affluent society is a highly educated workforce that is remarkably productive, well remunerated and enjoys an enviable quality of life.

However, determining whether profit-driven opportunities exist to train and upskill Jamaica’s workforce is not a simple matter. One would need to closely examine the current labour market data, economic data to include industry trajectories, employment culture, the existing national framework for training and certification, the role and plans for HEART/NTSA national training agency, and the accreditation process for private sector companies and organisations that wish to provide accredited training solutions and programmes in the market. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There’s also the elephant in the room, which is the reality of low wages in the job market and apprehension about upskilling by some. In a free market one of the most important questions in determining whether to invest in the area of training is demand, predicated on perceived value.

Therefore, will prospective trainees, the potential customers, be willing and able to pay for additional training and certification given the prevailing view that skilled labour is generally underemployed and underpaid? Or would they prefer to pay for training that would allow them to either emigrate to other markets or attract high-paying remote jobs from foreign countries?

It cannot be ignored that in some quarters within our popular culture there’s a romanticisation of illegal means of earning as the preferred shortcut to prosperity rather than attempting the long route of legitimately ascending the ladder of success through education, skills, and continuing training. Being highly skilled, therefore, may not necessarily be seen as attractive, or even desirable, a point that was also hinted at by the prime minister recently. There is also considerable frustration among skilled workers that they are underpaid and unable to enjoy a decent standard of living.

TRAINING SOLUTIONS

When one considers that some of the training programmes offered by the national training agency are heavily subsidised, a private entity would need to do considerable due diligence to ensure that it can compete on value to the customer, rather than price.

I believe it is possible that entrepreneurs could assist in solving Jamaica’s shortage of skilled labour by providing accredited training solutions, particularly in high-demand and high-growth areas.

However, this would require considerable collaboration and policy support from the Government. In particular, the Government would need to craft incentives to attract local investors and address immediately the bureaucracy surrounding the accreditation process for programmes and vocational institutions, among others.

One love!

Yaneek Page is the programme lead for Market Entry USA, a certified trainer in entrepreneurship, and creator and executive producer of The Innovators and Let’s Make Peace TV series. yaneek.page@gmail.com