The Bahamas is launching a wage and productive survey that is expected to inform the country’s planning and development of labour force and training programmes and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
In a press release the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said it is offering technical support to The Bahamas Department of Statistics to execute the study. The Department is collecting data from employers at 600 organisations across major industries in order to provide essential data for the effective planning and efficient implementation of both national and employer-based policies to develop the training programmes and to increase the labour force’s skills base and productivity.
“The survey will focus on key data, including employee productivity levels, company training procedures, needs assessments, employee competency levels, wages by occupation and innovation in the workplace,” the IDB said. According to Maria Victoria Fazio, a project team member of the IDB’s Labor Markets and Social Security Unit, “By collecting data in both training institutions and economic establishments, this project will contribute to understanding the link between the skills attained by Bahamians and the current demand for skills in the private sector. The Unit promotes the creation of more and better jobs in the region, the release said.
Annelle Bellony, of the Bank’s Education Division, which supports better school-to-work transitions, said “The analysis from this study will provide policy guidelines to close the potential skills gaps for better employability and more productive job creation in The Bahamas.” In addition, a complementary training mapping exercise that is part of the project will also provide evidence-based information on whether the education system is adequately supplying the market with the right mix of skills.
The IDB lauds the timeliness of the study as The Bahamas is in the initial stage of a boom in foreign direct investment (FDI) promoted by the government to reinvigorate economic sectors such as tourism. The country has attracted US$18 billion worth of FDI that could generate more than 33,000 jobs in construction and tourism. However, matching the supply of labour in terms of skills and location with the demand may prove difficult, it added.
According to the IDB, a previous survey undertaken as an occupational wage survey, conducted in 2007, revealed that 65% of Bahamian CEOs said they believed that there was a serious skills shortage and 80% thought that the shortage would impact the country’s future economic growth.
The Bahamas Chambers of Commerce and Employers Confederation is encouraging its members to actively participate in the study. CEO Winston C Rolle said the group is pleased about the survey as it believes the data will identify any gaps that need to be addressed at the national level to make the business community more competitive and attractive to FDI. When the data are collected and analysed it will be shared with national stakeholders and will be used to provide guidance to the Bahamian government and private sector.
