The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with a regional digital talent-acquisition service agency thinks there are many employment opportunities now available for teachers in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and the wider Caribbean.

Joseph Boll, CEO of Caribbean Employment Services said given that several nations are looking to hire teachers and similar roles as the new school year gets into full swing, and with some even facing teacher shortages, Caribbean teachers are in a prime position to make use of open opportunities.

“Caribbean workers, now more than ever, are in a position to benefit from new opportunities open to them,” said Boll who heads the talent acquisition service entity. “Because of the pandemic, new fields are expanding in this region and more foreign employers are looking to the Caribbean to recruit as well.

“For teachers, several countries within the region are hiring and even facing a shortage within their public schools. Plus, several nations have recently implemented or plan to implement minimum wage increases, meaning you can now earn more for your expertise,”the entity said in a release.

Boll pointed out that it is not uncommon for Caribbean countries to increase their uptake of teachers near the start of the new school year each September. However, the COVID-19 pandemic placed a particular challenge on regional school systems, and teachers also have a tremendous task at hand to overcome the learning losses incurred as a result of pandemic-related emergency lockdowns and other such measures.

He made particular reference to the situation regarding the vaccine mandate in SVG that resulted in the loss of employment among teachers, and the recent move by government to fill 40 teaching positions.

He also pointed to vacancies in Jamaica which was looking to hire hundreds of teachers amid similar staffing shortages, apparently mainly due to migration, with dozens of teachers resigning to pursue opportunities to work abroad.