St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN):
Aligning the skills of Caribbean youth with the demands of the labour market continues to be a challenge across the region. According to the World Bank, the gap between education outcomes and employer expectations has grown, signaling an urgent need for a more trained, adaptable, and technologically equipped workforce.
Despite expanding access to post-secondary education, many young people are still graduating without the skills required for modern employment. Employers across the region report difficulty in filling job openings due to a shortage of both technical and soft skills among applicants.
Dr. Victoria Levin, Senior Economist with the World Bank’s Education Global Practice, delivered a detailed presentation on these concerns. She pointed out that although specific regional assessments of post-secondary education quality are lacking, employer feedback consistently shows a mismatch between graduate skills and job requirements.
“In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for example, employers said that nearly 50% of hiring difficulties stemmed from a lack of relevant qualifications and skills, while another 20% cited deficiencies in applicants’ social and emotional competencies,” Dr. Levin explained.
Challenges Facing Caribbean Education
Dr. Levin also noted additional issues hindering educational outcomes and labour market readiness:
- Gender Disparity: While young women dominate general education enrollment at the post-secondary level, men continue to lead in technical and vocational programs, pointing to a significant gender imbalance.
- Limited Digital Integration: Despite lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the uptake of digital learning tools remains slow and uneven across the region.
- Brain Drain: High rates of emigration among skilled professionals continue to weaken the domestic talent pool.
World Bank Support for Education Reform
To help address these issues, the World Bank is supporting Caribbean nations through a variety of evidence-based initiatives. These include:
- Assessing teacher effectiveness and classroom practices
- Evaluating digital readiness and digital skills acquisition
- Measuring the outcomes of targeted interventions to ensure impact
- Providing access to funding for investment in educational infrastructure
Dr. Levin emphasized that the Bank’s efforts span early childhood through post-secondary education, with a focus on:
- Enhancing teaching quality and learning environments, including climate-resilient infrastructure
- Strengthening learning assessments to help meet UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for quality education
- Expanding access to inclusive education for learners with special needs
- Improving education data systems to empower students, educators, and policymakers
- Addressing gender gaps by promoting retention of male students and tackling barriers to male participation in higher education
- Advancing the quality and relevance of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programs
As Caribbean economies look to diversify and compete in an evolving global landscape, the development of a highly skilled, future-ready workforce is more crucial than ever. The World Bank’s insights and ongoing support aim to equip the region’s youth with the tools and opportunities they need to thrive.
