August 2007 · Number 110 A regular series of notes highlighting recent lessons emerging from the operational and analytical program of the World Bank`s Latin America and Caribbean Region. SCHOOL AND WORK 42390 Does the Eastern Caribbean Education System Adequately Prepare Youth for the Global Economy? Andreas Blom and Cynthia Hobbs with background analysis from Theresa Beltramo, Christel Vermeersch, Henning Salling Olesen and Thomas McArdle As the global economy rapidly changes and new tech- on the relevance of the education and training systems nologies are introduced, more highly skilled workers in the OECS. Its findings confirm the importance of are required. In the Organization of Eastern Caribbean strengthening the link between OECS education and States (OECS)1, firms struggle to fill skilled positions training systems and employers' needs. Analytical find- for lack of qualified candidates, while the number of un- ings have also informed the design of a project in St. employed low skilled workers is growing. This paradox Lucia to pilot a new market-driven training model which especially affects youth. Even dur- requires close partnership between the ing recent economic booms, youth public and private sectors. unemployment has remained high, indicating a mismatch between All citizens of the Eastern Caribbean skills acquired in school and the should receive an education that pre- critical skills demanded by the pares them adequately for the world labor market. There is a clear need of work. The report reviews current for more relevant education and education and skills training options training to prepare young people in the OECS and asks whether the for the demands of work. In this prevailing education policies achieve context, the OECS governments this laudable goal. An important ob- are seeking ways to foster eco- jective of the report is to stimulate nomic growth and competitive- debate and offer concrete suggestions ness and strengthen their human that could contribute to wider reform resource base. of the education system, taking into consideration the latest education and Eastern Caribbean governments training policies in the region. In this asked the World Bank to provide context, the report examines how the analysis and concrete policy sug- economic transformation of the East- gestions, tailored to the OECS, ern Caribbean affects demand for edu- to improve the employability and cation and skills.It considers the Ca- competitiveness of their work ribbean Single Market Economy and force. A new report2 comprises the first phase of analyti- resulting free movement of labor, and the implications cal activities in response to this request, and focuses this has for common standards and certification. The re- 1 The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) consists of seven member countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Lu- cia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and two associate members (Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands). 2. Extracted from "SCHOOL AND WORK:Does the Eastern Caribbean Education System Adequately Prepare Youth for the Global Economy?" Phase I Report Skills Challenges in the Caribbean, Latin America and the Caribbean Region, World Bank Report 38555, May 2007. The full report is available at http://www.worldbank.org/laceducation port provides in-depth analysis and relevant international hand, the increased demand for skills generates great op- cutting-edge practices to guide policymakers, educators portunities for improving living conditions in the OECS. and private sector leaders in fostering a creative, produc- The new positions are expected to be better remunerated tive and well-paid workforce. and therefore lead to an improvement in living standards and reduction in poverty. MAIN FINDINGS: The economic transformation of the Eastern Carib- Based on the findings, the report argues that the edu- bean increases the demand for skills, which creates cation system is not adequately preparing young people both great opportunities and risks. The human capital for the new skilled jobs. School leavers--understood development challenges posed by this transformation to be all pupils, including those that graduate success- are captured in the statistics summarized in Box 1. Since fully and those that leave school before completing a 1980, services have been the most important source of degree--often do not possess the skills required for the growth in the OECS countries. Private and public ser- service jobs in the new global economy. Despite hav- vices now account for almost four-fifths of the economy. ing received up to 11 years of formal education, school The service sector relies extensively on skilled labor to leavers often have no diploma or marketable skills. prosper, pay good salaries and create jobs (see Figure 1). These young people can take an exceptionally long Even niche manufacturing and agriculture are changing time to find employment. In particular, in this group of and now require more skills because of changes in crops, school leavers: demands for quality improvements, and increased need · Some struggle with daily use of basic skills, such as for management. The economic transformation has fu- reading, writing and arithmetic, as indicated by the eled demand for skilled labor and is expected to continue results of Common Entrance Exams and Caribbean to do so. Already, shortage of skilled workers appears to Examination Council (CXC) exams in English and be severely hindering firm competitiveness in the OECS mathematics. (see Figure 2). Therefore, education and training are es- · Many face difficulties demonstrating behavioral sential for job creation, competitiveness, and economic life skills that are valued by employers, such as team growth. The demand for skills opens doors to qualified work, pro-activeness, critical thinking, and communi- workers, but it carries downside risks. Fewer low skilled cation (see Figure 3). and manual workers will be sought or needed, and those · Most have not acquired professional skills linked to school leavers with unneeded competencies are more a specific career or technical skill in demand, such as likely to remain unemployed. This could lead to mar- Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ginalization of such groups which, in turn, could lead · Few will receive labor market training while in the to their engagement in deviant behaviors. On the other labor force, since research shows that firms are Figure 1 - New service jobs demand skills (Grenada) Figure 2 - The Grenadian skills gap is the most severe in the Western Hemisphere Agriculture Food processing (% of firms rating lack of skills as major or severe) Textile & garments 45 41 40 40 Electric & electronics 40 Other Manufacturing 35 31 Tourism Professionals 30 26 24 22 Financial services Skilled Workers 25 20 17 ICT-enabled services Unskilled Workers 20 13 Medical services 15 10 Professional Services 5 Transport 0 Construction 4 4 Energy l '03 '03 r '03 '03 Retail/wholesale Services 0 20 40 60 80 100 Grenada '0Guyana '04BraziGuatamalaHonduras '03Chile '0EcuadoEl SalvadorNicaragua '03Peru '02 Composition of labor force Source: Grenada Investment Climate Assessment (FIAS, 2004) Source: Grenada and Guyana Investment Climate Assessment (FIAS, 2004) and (FIAS, forthcoming). The survey year is indicated after the country. 2 · August 2007 · Number 110 Box 1 - Key Statistics · 79%: share of GDP produced by the service economy in the OECS ­ thus, training people to work in this sector is critical. · 79%: percentage of expected new hires in the tourism industry in St. Kitts and Nevis in 2006, as a share of all expected na- tional hires. · 41%: share of business firms in Grenada rating workers with lack of skills and education as a severe obstacle for their com- petitiveness ­ education and training systems are not preparing students adequately for the available jobs. · 100%: transition rate from primary to secondary education in St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines - the other OECS governments are taking steps to achieve this goal. · 0: number of international examinations beyond the Caribbean in which any OECS country has participated - accurate infor- mation is needed to compare the level of learning outcomes in the OECS on a global scale. · 88%: share of employers in St. Kitts and Nevis rating "attitude to work" as very important - behavioral life skills are valued by employers in the Eastern Caribbean. · 14 months: average time needed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for a CXC graduate to find a first job - school leavers face difficulties in the transition from school to work. · 56%: estimated youth unemployment rate in Dominica - indicates the difficulties of finding the first job, which seems linked to insufficient preparedness of school leavers. · 149: number of enrollees in sewing and garment production in St. Lucia in 2005, where the textile industry is small and de- clining - only 390 machine operators are employed, and only some of them are sewing machine operators. Unemployment training in the Eastern Caribbean is, at times, out of sync with labor demand. · 48%: share of business firms that provide training to their employees in Grenada - in comparison to international data, this suggests that the incidence of job training and further education of the OECS labor force is low. more likely to offer training to highly skilled workers. needs and schooling should be bridged. The education Those that do receive training are sometimes trained sector has to transform to keep pace with the changing in areas of relatively low demand, such as sewing and economy. This represents a major challenge to the East- cake decoration. ern Caribbean education system. Existing literature and research presented in the report suggest the following RECOMMENDATIONS: prioritized actions: The OECS education system should provide cutting- edge knowledge, teaching, and research to assist the Formal education should be more relevant to the needs economy to specialize in globally competitive niches. of the Eastern Caribbean economy. This could be Further, the gap in the OECS between labor market achieved in several ways: · Improve governance of education institutions in the Figure 3 - Caribbean: Employers' desired skills Eastern Caribbean by including broader societal representation on their governing boards, and by Honesty/integrity 86% further empowering the boards. In particular, the private sector has weak representation in the gover- Work ethic 86% Prob. solving/ nance of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), efficiency 82% some post-secondary education institutions, training Communication 79% institutions, and school boards. This hinders crucial Teamw ork 77% communication between the education institutions and Responsible 68% employers. The private sector should be better repre- Dependability 47% sented, and the boards should be sufficiently empow- Computer skills 45% ered to set strategic directions for their institutions. 25% 50% 75% 100% · Enhance accountability. Learning outcomes, such as Source: Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network: Labor Market graduation rates, CXC exam results, and employment Survey, 2006 August 2007 · Number 110 · rates, could be made available to families, school regional collaboration in such a program. boards, and parent-teacher associations to evaluate the performance of each school. It is also highly recom- Actions to increase job training of the work force could mended that the OECS participate in a global learning include the following: assessment to gain a better understanding of how their education system compares to international standards. · Foster a regional market for training. This could be Furthermore, the goals and objectives of post-sec- achieved gradually by using harmonized rules of ap- ondary education and training institutions should be plication, accreditation and financing of training in the limited in number, clear and measurable, and if pos- Eastern Caribbean. This would stimulate the develop- sible agreed to in multi-annual performance contracts ment of specialized training providers, adding more between the institutions and the government. value to training and reducing costs through econo- mies of scale. · Improve the quality of education. Efforts towards achieving universal secondary education in the OECS · Channel all public funding for training through a are laudable. Increased access should be accompanied single transparent and competitive fund. Funds for by better quality education at the primary and sec- which trainers could transparently compete, based ondary levels, a strong focus on reading, writing and on demonstrated outcomes (unemployed partici- mathematics, and greater support to students with a pants gain a well-paid job), would increase value for wide range of abilities. Mastery of these basic cogni- money. Further, up-front involvement of the private tive skills by all workers is the basis for a productive sector, such as a mandatory co-payment, would en- human resource base and their gateway to further sure that training is relevant. professional education. Governments should support ongoing training to teachers and counselors and con- · Encourage firms and labor unions to devote more tinue to promote literacy and numeracy. attention to training of workers. Training could become a key element in future labor negotiations. · Better nurture behavioral life skills of students. Business executives should invest resources in train- Cooperative teamwork skills, problem solving and ing and skills councils and participate on the boards of pro-activeness could be better nurtured in the schools. education and training institutions to make institutions Informal classroom observations indicate that this aware of their labor needs. would require further in-service training of teachers and curriculum modifications. To ensure that there is sufficient capacity to implement priority actions, policy makers will need to be highly se- Many young people will need assistance in transition- lective in the choice of actions. Equally important would ing from school to the labor market. While measures be strong political will to carry out reforms and to under- to improve the quality and relevance of education will take effective regional collaboration. better prepare youth for the labor market, there is, in the short run, a staggering high share of unemployed youth that would benefit from employment assistance pro- grams. In this regard, an important action would be to: About the Authors · Scale up youth training programs. Scaling up exist- ing programs of proven quality could be combined Andreas Blom is a Senior Education Economist with the Human with policies to increase the relevance of training. Development Unit of the South Asia Region at the World Bank. In particular, international experience emphasizes He recently moved from the Latin America and Caribbean Region. private sector-driven training, with co-financing from Cynthia Hobbs is a Senior Education Specialist with the Human Development Unit of the World Bank's Latin America and Caribbean employers, combining life skills and technical skills Region. Both have worked in the Eastern Caribbean for over five training and inclusion of traineeships to provide on- years and are based in Washington, DC. the-job training. Further, there is important scope for "en breve" is produced by the Knowledge and Learning Team of the Operations Services Department of the Latin America and the Caribbean Region of the World Bank - http://www.worldbank.org/lac · August 2007 · Number 110