Country won’t see sustainable development without STEM

Cari-Med Chairman and CEO Dr Glen Christian says Jamaica will not see substantial development unless the country and its youth take a keen interest in mathematics and the sciences.

Speaking at the launch of The Mico STEM Century International Conference at the Mico University College on Tuesday, Christian criticised Jamaica’s heavy reliance on an economy that prioritises manual labour jobs. He said these are jobs that will become obsolete within the next five years as the effectiveness of artificial intelligence continues to rise.

Additionally, he highlighted that students who excel in mathematics and the sciences are migrating primarily to the United States and Canada. He noted that there has been an increase in resignations at Cari-Med due to this migration and that the company has had a hard time trying to fill positions in some areas.

“Our company is a major player in the manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceuticals, and it has been challenging to find suitable, qualified maintenance technicians, packaging and manufacturing operators and quality assurance personnel,” Christian said in his address to the forum.

“The situation is similar in the wider health services, where there is a shortage of pharmacists, medical technologists, and biomedical engineers.”

Christian spoke about the Government’s plans to construct 8,000 hotel rooms and that Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated that there is a possibility that Jamaica may have to import construction workers to get the job done. Additionally, he highlighted Jamaica’s high food bill caused by the importation of produce such as ginger and coconuts, which can be easily grown in the country. For coconuts, this is due to the ‘yellowing disease’, which has been plaguing Jamaica’s agricultural sector for years. He also spoke on tourism, which while it is Jamaica’s biggest contributor to Jamaica’s economy, is too reliant on ‘sea and sand’ tourism. He highlighted that despite Cari-Med being the largest pharmaceutical distributor in Jamaica, Christian stated that about 40 per cent of the pharmaceuticals consumed in Jamaica is not locally sourced.

“All our industries are facing similar challenges. We need scientists, we need engineers, analysts, and other creative problem solvers if we are going to grow our economy and compete internationally,” he said.

STEM FOR GROWTH

The Jamaica STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) for Growth foundation was started by its chairman, Dr Glen Christian, and a number of other prominent members. It currently has several prominent members of the private sector and the academic community. It is called STEM for Growth because they believe that there will be no real growth in Jamaica if the workforce cannot function in a digital economy. The foundation’s mandate is to build STEM education at all levels in the education system and to empower students and educators to excel in the field of STEM and use these skills for national development. The foundation plans to launch a major capital campaign later this year with the goal of raising US$7 million for the construction of the National STEM Centre.

“The centre will coordinate with colleges across the island to train teachers to deliver a STEM-based curriculum. It will also train specialist teachers from STEM academies, which are being established by the Government,” Christian said.

Christian and his wife kicked off the fundraising for the STEM centre with a pledge of US$1 million. Multiple Jamaican companies are also supporting STEM at multiple levels and have made significant donations to the progress of STEM in Jamaica. However, Christian said he believed that these won’t be enough.

“We need to pool our resources and coordinate our efforts so that collectively, we can move faster and have a major impact,” Christian said.

– Leon Thomas