An Education Needs Assessment of CARIFORUM Firms

of such firms among the BSOs that were used to reach private sector firms. It is worth considering

the extent to which existing BSOs cater to the needs of firms within these newer sectors, especially

recognizing the high level of skill and value-chain participation that these new sectors attract.

Although the category “ O ther” reg istered a high percentage in Figure 4 which would suggest that

a significant number of businesses operate outside the listed industries, many of the responses

given fell within existing categories.

Figure 4: % of businesses per sector of operation

Please identify the MAIN sector in which your business operates (if you operate in multiple ones, choose the primary one)

Tourism and hospitality sector Transport and logistics sector Wholesale and retail sector Other (please specify)

16.2%

9.9%

0.7%

4.5%

Life sciences sector Manufacturing sector Real estate sector Recreation and entertainment sector (e.g. amusement parks and… Renewable energy (green economy) sector Sports sector

1.3%

0.0%

1.8%

0.7%

18.7%

0.0%

Business and professional services sector (e.g.… Computing and software development sector Construction sector Creative industries sector Education services sector Financial services sector Health and wellness services sector Information and communication technology sector

1.3%

5.2%

1.3%

3.1%

10.6%

1.6%

1.3%

11.7%

Agriculture sector Agro-processing sector Blue economy sector (e.g. fisheries and aquaculture, maritime…

2.0%

17.3%

5.4%

Most respondents (55.7%) are currently not involved in exporting activities (see Figure 5). This is

not surprising when considering the difficulties currently faced in exporting. Based on Figure 6,

current exporters are constrained by prohibitive costs (56.3%), insufficient institutional support

(38.5%), insufficient resources (36.5%), and even other specified challenges which included poor

inter-island transport connectivity, supply chain issues, challenges with accepting cross-border

payments, lack of market intelligence, competition and cultural differences in destination markets,

difficulty obtaining necessary work visas/permits, customs, and brokerage issues, and difficulties

finding distributors in destination countries.

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