General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), Toni Moore, says the narrative that Barbados is facing a skills shortage may be misguided since the real issue may be a failure to reach and equip willing young workers.
Speaking during the St George Ideas Forum at The Glebe on Monday night, Moore, who also serves as MP for St George North, said there was a need to generate greater visibility for the Construction Gateway Initiative and similar training programmes aimed at equipping young Barbadians for the booming construction sector.
“We feel very comfortable sometimes saying that we don’t have the skills or we have a skill shortage,” she said. “The Construction Gateway is one of those programmes and one of those avenues through which a lot of people—young people in particular—can develop the kinds of skills to assist even now with our construction boom.”
She called for a grassroots promotional strategy to reach youth who are not reading newspapers or tuning into traditional media. “There are people who are not going to see the programme if it’s advertised in the newspaper. The algorithms on their IGs, their Instagram and things, are going to take them there.”
The BWU head also cautioned against defaulting to imported labour when many locals are eager to learn but lack opportunities. “It is true that our population is dwindling. It is true that we may have to import skills. But the people that I see coming to me and saying they want to work but don’t have the skill—I know they’re interested in learning.”
Her remarks came in support of Construction Gateway instructor Tarik Lorde, who criticised the limited visibility of the programme. “I spend my days going from block to block, coming from Black Rock to Ellerton, talking to the youngsters,” he said. “And I think we need to promote the Gateway Programme more… I’ve got a lot of people signing up.”
Lorde said that some courses, such as solar panel installation, had been paused due to low enrolment despite high industry demand. “To have no students there is a problem in my opinion,” he said. “We’re having students going into the field starting at $150 a day with just 72 hours of training.”
He proposed a more consistent public education strategy. “Maybe we can have a session every Wednesday promoting the Gateway Programme and promoting the classes,” he suggested.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Sandra Husbands, shared that efforts were under way to broaden access by partnering with secondary schools to deliver training after hours, on weekends, and during school holidays.
“We’re hoping we can do an additional 800 to 900 students through the SJPI and BVTB,” she said.
However, Husbands noted that follow-up remains a challenge.
“Part of the problem sometimes is that when we try to call people back, they don’t have any money on their phone or they don’t answer it because they don’t know who’s calling,” she explained. “We’re going to have to make a change in our methodology to effectively get back to them.”
Still, she praised the commitment of tutors and instructors. “It means so much to these young people,” she said. “So help us spread the word and get people calling.” (SZB)
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