An Education Needs Assessment of CARIFORUM Firms

Table 6: Skills Gaps in the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Sector

Agriculture •

Skills coverage lacking in apiarists, sericulturists, and mixed crop grower skills • Skills coverage lacking in fisheries sector across the board Agro processing • Skills gap across (i) food health, hygiene, safety, and security compliance; (ii) labelling and packaging (including operating a blending sieving and bagging process); (iii) organizing warehousing and distribution systems; (iv) operations management (including machineries operations); (v) business skills (data entry and analysis, conducting business relationships, providing workplace information); (vi) managing water treatment processes. Agriculture ▪ Lack of training programmes in agronomy, animal production, veterinary science, dairy production, Ecology, Environmental science, Agri-tourism, Fishing/Aquaculture, Biochemistry, Agri-tourism, or agricultural enterprise management.

Belize

Dominican Republic

Agriculture •

Emerging skills needs in climate-resilient farming techniques • Emerging skills needs in testing and growing non-traditional crops and agri business growth and development.

Guyana

Agro-processing •

Emerging skills needs in modernizing manufacturing to boost value- added production.

Agriculture and Agro-processing •

Skills demand for (i) business development (agribusiness management, agritourism, agricultural communications); (ii) entrepreneurship (incubating agribusinesses); (iv) export development (marketing to international consumers and access to international markets) • Skills demand for food safety testing (with demand for tertiary and technical programs in food processing, food chemistry and food technology that incorporate technical food safety skills to help agro-processors meet international certification requirements)

Jamaica

Source: Belize Chamber of Commerce and International Labour Organization 2018; Elliot 2019; USAID 2020; ILO 2017; USAID 2017

•

Light Manufacturing

Dominican Republic’s 2020 Labour Market Assessment outlined skills needs for the

country’s light manufacturing sector, highlighting a specific demand for skilled technical

workers in the light manufacturing of medical devices. By 2024, 3,500 workers with

associate degrees in manufacturing, quality control and assurance, supply chain

management, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, and mechatronic engineering

will be needed in the Dominican Republic to support medical device production (USAID

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