An Education Needs Assessment of CARIFORUM Firms

SECTION I: DESK RESEARCH

Introduction

An education needs assessment comprises different activities aimed at assessing the training needs

of the labour force in a strategic way using consistent and systematic methods (ILO 2015). An

essential component of this assessment involves identifying and understanding the sources of skills

imbalance driven by structural and cyclical factors influencing the demand and supply of skills

(OECD 2017a). Drawing on existing research, this section examines the main drivers influencing

the demand and supply of skills across CARIFORUM states to identify potential sources of

imbalance. These include the international environment and global forces, especially as it relates

to the future of work; regional and national developmental priorities, which are achieved in tandem

with the private sector; and systemic constraints which limit the region’s human resource capacity.

The outline for this section follows:

1.1. Global Influences and Future of Work Impact

1.2. An Overview of Existing Regional & National Skills Demand

1.3. Systemic Constraints Limiting Regional & National Skills Supply

1.1. Global Influences and Future of Work Impact

CARIFORUM comprises small open economies increasingly integrated into the global economic

landscape. Consequently, these economies are influenced by global trends and shocks, making it

important to understand the international influence on the future of work and the associated

demand for education and skills development. Technological progress, globalization and

demographic change are the leading global trends shaping the future of work (OECD 2017a;

Chandy 2017; Schwartz et al. 2016), and in many cases are mutually reinforcing. This section

provides an overview of global influences and the future of work impact to identify anticipated

skills that CARIFORUM states will need to consider to future-proof their competitiveness.

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