An Education Needs Assessment of CARIFORUM Firms

No statistics were available on the employment of graduates of the TVET system, neither from the GNTA, GEF, nor the GTUC. Based on employers’ responses to the 2018 Employer Satisfaction Survey, employers viewed NVQ / CVQ as both relevant and important in equipping individuals for the workforce, with an overall importance rating of 85.5%. Regar ding graduates’ employability (soft) skills, and the probability of them gaining employment, employers believed graduates possess very good soft skills (82.3 per cent). • The Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) – Guyana Statistics pertaining to the employment of graduates of the TVET system were not available, hence no definitive conclusions could be arrived at regarding the relationship between NVQ / CVQ and employment. The Executive Director of CTVET, expressed concerns that employers do not include NVQ / CVQ certification among the entry requirements for job seekers.’ • Human Employment and Resource Training Trust (HEART)/National Training Agency - Jamaica HEART Trust was the only NTA to have structured information. Jamaica is the most dominant performer with outputs of 24,894 CVQs (64%) of the total number of CVQs (38,918) and 283,684 NVQs. An average of 66% of graduates gained employment each year. NVQ / CVQ certification appears to be facilitating employment, an implicit ind ication of Jamaican employers’ recognition and acceptance of TVET. • Saint Kitts and Nevis Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (SKNTVET) Information on employment data for past beneficiaries was unavailable and the TVET Secretariat was not able to provide any data on the number of skills certificates issued. The Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce indicated that employers often raised concerns with the lack of employability (soft) skills of workers generally and TVET graduates in particular. • The Saint Lucia Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (SLCTVET) Information on employment data for past beneficiaries is limited however, SLCTVET was able to produce over 600 CVQs in two years. • St. Vincent and the Grenadines the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) Information on employment data for past beneficiaries was non-existent, due to resource constraints. Findings however indicate that employers are biased towards graduates with college degrees. The SSDA offered certification in NVQs only up to 2014. There is however no available records of NVQ data in 2015. CANTA approved the award of CVQs. Between 2015 and 2018 a total of 509 CVQs have been issued, 213 full certificate and 296 units. • Trinidad and Tobago National Training Agency (TTNTA) Information on employment data for past beneficiaries of TVET programmes was non-existent. However, opinion indicated that CVQ graduates access decent employment despite expressed bias by employers towards tertiary graduates. Data from CXC shows that out of Trinidad and Tobago’s NTA awarded 11,618 CVQs.

1.3.2. Labour Market Demographics and Mobility Across CARICOM

Figure 1 provides a snapshot of unemployment rates pre-COVID-19 across small Caribbean states,

with youth unemployment averaging 25% compared to an 8% average for adults (OECD 2019b).

Based on Figure 1, many smaller islands like Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and St Lucia have

the highest youth unemployment rates, reaching above 40%. The gender gap between unemployed

young women and men stands at 10%, and it is estimated that youth unemployment typically costs

the Caribbean 1.5% of its annual GDP (OECD 2019b).

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