i-manager Publications

Bridging the Skill Gap in the Bahamas: Perceptions of Employers

Robert W. Robertson*

Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute, Nassau, Bahamas.

Periodicity:December - February'2021
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jmgt.15.3.17677

Abstract

The skill gap has increasingly been identified as a growing concern that may negatively impact the economic growth of nations across the globe. Indeed, the future of work is changing and there is a growing need for employees and employers to recognize the fact that the skills of today will not be sufficient to operate in the technology driven economy of the future. This paper explores the challenges faced by The Bahamas in addressing the skill gap using a mixed method research model including a survey and interviews of employers. Fundamentally, the research suggests that employers in the Bahamas do perceive a skill gap that impedes their performance and productivity. The data illustrates the need for shorter, industry certified training particularly in soft skills and in the trades. The data highlights the importance of promoting the trades earlier in high schools to build awareness of employment opportunities in this sector. Also, respondents noted the increasing importance of the use of online options as an opportunity to address the unique challenges facing an island nation.

Keywords

Future of Work, Skill Gap, Training, Organizational Development, Economic Development, Apprenticeships, The Bahamas, Technology.

How to Cite this Article?

Robertson, R. W. (2021). Bridging the Skill Gap in the Bahamas: Perceptions of Employers. i-manager's Journal on Management, 15(3), 7-17. https://doi.org/10.26634/jmgt.15.3.17677

References

[1]. Advisory Council on Economic Growth, (2017). Learning Nation: Equipping Canada's Workforce with Skills for the Future. Retrieved from https://www.voced.edu.au/ content/ngv%3A78680

[2]. Alaimo, V., Bosch, M., Kaplan, D., Pages, C., and Ripani, L. (2016). Jobs for Growth, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D.C.

[3]. BTVI. (n.d.). Mission Statement, Retrieved from https:// www.btvi.edu.bs/index.php/contacts/about-us.html

[4]. City and Guilds. (2018). Is there a skill gap in the UK?, City and Guilds, Retrieved from https://www.cityandguilds. com/skills-gap

[5]. Commonwealth of Learning. (n.d.). About the Commonwealth of Learning. Retrieved from https://www. col.org/about/what-commonwealth-learning

[6]. Dames, C. (2020). We Were Warned: Persistent Education Crisis Threatens Economic Advancement, The Nassau Guardian. Retrieved from https://thenassauguar dian.com/we-were-warned/

[7]. Dean, R. (2019). Ministry of Labour launches $ 50 million national skills building program, The Bahamas Weekly. Retrieved from https://www.thebahamasweekly.com/pub lish/news/Ministry_Of_Labour_launches_50_Million_Nation al_Skills-building_Program_printer.shtml

[8]. Deloitte and Human Resource Professional Association. (n.d.). The Intelligence Revolution - Future proofing Canada's workforce, Deloitte, Toronto, ON. Retrieved from https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv:7 8963

[9]. IADB. (2019). Damages and other impacts on Bahamas by hurricane Dorian estimated at 3.4 billion, Inter-American Development Bank. Retrieved from https://www.iadb.org/en/news/damages-and-other-impa cts-bahamas-hurricane-dorian-estimated-34-billion-repo

[10]. IBM. (2019). IBM Study: The Skills Gap is not a myth, but can be addressed with real solutions, IBM Newsroom, Retrieved from https://newsroom.ibm.com/2019-09-06- IBM-Study-The-Skills-Gap-is-Not-a-Myth-But-Can-Be- Addressed-with-Real-Solutions

[11]. Kemp, Y. (2020). BTVI Chief: Skills Gap has widened, The Tribune, Nassau Bahamas. Retrieved from https://www. tribune242.com/news/2020/jan/27/btvi-chief-skills-gaphas- widened/

[12]. KPMG. (2017). Bridging the Skills Gap. Retrieved from https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/nz/pdf/November /proptech-bridging-the-gap.pdf

[13]. Levesque, E. M. (2019). Understanding the skills gap: and what employers can do about it, Brookings. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/understandingthe- skills-gap-and-what-employers-can-do-about-it/

[14]. Macrotrends. (2019). Bahamas youth unemployment rate 1991-2020. Retrieved from https://www.macrotrends. net/countries/BHS/bahamas/youth-unemployment-rate

[15]. McGrath, S. (2012). Vocational education and training for development: A policy in need of a theory?. International Journal of Educational Development, 32(5), 623-631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2011.12.001

[16]. McKinsey and Company. (2020a). Beyond hiring: How companies are reskilling to address talent gaps. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functio ns/organization/our-insights/beyond-hiring-how-compani es-are-reskilling-to-address-talent-gaps#

[17]. McKinsey and Company. (2020b). The future is now: Closing the skills gap in Europe's public sector, Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/ our-insights/the-future-is-now-closing-the-skills-gap-ineuropes- public-sector

[18]. OECD. (2012). OECD skills report: Skills gap exists in all OECD countries, narrowing gap is key to future growth. The Council of Industry, Newburgh. Retrieved from https://www. councilofindustry.org/oecd-skills-report-skills-gap-exists-inall- oecd-countries-narrowing-gap-is-key-to-future-growth/

[19]. Robertson, R. W. (2018). Local economic development and the skills gap: Observations on the case of Tampa. Journal of Higher Education, Skills and Work- Based Learning, Florida, Emerald Pub. 8(4), 451-468. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-05-2017-0033

[20]. Schwartz, J., Stockton, H., Wagner, D., & Walsh, B. (2017). The future of work: The augmented workforce, Deloitte. Retrieved from https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2017/future-workfo rce-changing-nature-of-work.html

[21]. Society for Human Resource Management. (2019). The Global Skills Shortage: Bridging the Talent Gap with Education, Training and Sourcing, SHRM Pub, Washington D.C. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trendsand- forecasting/research-and-surveys/Documents/SHRM %20Skills%20Gap%202019.pdf

[22]. Statista. (2019). The Bahamas, Unemployment Rate 1999 to 2020. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/ statistics/578549/unemployment-rate-in-the-bahamas/

[23]. The Commonwealth. (n.d.). The Bahamas. Retrieved from https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countr ies/bahamas

[24]. The Nassau Guardian. (2016). Fitzgerald: Boost graduation rate from 50 to 85 percent by 2030, The Nassau Guardian.

[25]. The Tribune. (2019). Bahamians urged to fill the skills gap. The Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.tribune242.co m/news/2019/mar/04/bahamians-urged-fill-skills-gap/?news

[26]. The World Economic Forum. (2019). The global competitiveness index - 2019, World Economic Forum, Retrieved from https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The GlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf

If you have access to this article please login to view the article or kindly login to purchase the article

Single Article

	North Americas,UK, Middle East,Europe		India	Rest of world
	USD	EUR	INR	USD-ROW
Online	15	15

ADD TO CART

Options for accessing this content:

If you would like institutional access to this content, please recommend the title to your librarian.
If you already have i-manager's user account: Login above and proceed to purchase the article.
New Users: Please register, then proceed to purchase the article.