More emphasis needed on development of skills in schools – ECCB Governor

More emphasis should be placed on the development of skills and entrepreneurship in schools if there is to be a reduction in unemployment in the Eastern Caribbean.

Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Timothy Antoine believes that because of the limited resources in the Caribbean, countries must ensure that they have a strong foundation with a strong basic education.{{more}}

As he spoke with reporters last Friday at Frenches House, Antoine said doing many subjects in school will not make our students better equipped for the job market.

Antoine’s remarks came after he was asked for suggestions to achieve the goal of single digit unemployment, as outlined in his vision for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).

“First of all, I think we have to take another look at our education system. I’m extremely concerned about how we spend some of our hard-earned education dollars,” he said.

The ECCB governor expressed further concern about the obsession with subjects, rather than skills in schools, stating that having a lot of subjects only gives bragging rights to the school, principal and parents and has nothing to do with the employability of the individual.

“It’s a lot of money we’re spending on teachers and paying for subjects and then you have no employment skills, you can’t go out and actually do anything and in some cases you know, you’re really not fit for the job market; you write plenty subjects, but you have no skills and not a lot of sense; you have subjects, but not sense. I’m concerned about that.”

Antoine said he believes that another look should be taken at the curriculum, in order to get more done with respect to skills and also to create employability, adding that entrepreneurship should be encouraged in schools.

“I’m concerned for example that you see the junior achievement programmes help people start business up and then they leave school and immediately they put down those businesses and they looking for a job in the state or in the private sector, rather than creating their own job.”

According to the Central Bank governor, a shift must be made where people would look to create their own jobs. He said that he believes a lot of the jobs would come from technology and technology enabled businesses, so attention must be paid to that area and persons should be trained.

“You look at all the projections, where the jobs going to come from going forward? A lot of it is going to come from technology and IT,” he added.

Antoine said attention must also be paid to small businesses, and more should be done to help them to survive.

He explained that a lot of jobs in the region are generated by small businesses, adding that 50 per cent of all jobs in the economy come from small businesses.

The governor said during the first two or three years, small businesses need the support of an incubator so that attention could be paid to getting the business up and running without having to pay overheads. He said business owners also often have difficulty accessing credit from commercial banks without security from relatives, which he thinks is a problem.

He said the curriculum, skills and more support for businesses are three things that can help to create a better business environment and address the unemployment situation.

Antoine said those examples could be applied, whether in agriculture, technology or whichever desirable sector.(AS)