‘We can’t afford to keep importing ‘technical’ labour’- Kevin ‘OJ’ Smith
Speaking at a campaign rally in Palestina Estate in the Third District on June 3, 2015, Mr Smith said working in the telecommunications industry has allowed him to see how the territory is lacking in certain skilled areas of labour and the need to be importing persons with the necessary skills.
“But where are the local engineers? Every time there is a need for engineers, every time there is a need for a particular technical skill we have to import them from overseas. We can’t as a country afford to keep doing that. We have to prepare BVIslanders to take full opportunity of what’s available in our country... It’s about putting our people first,” argued Mr Smith, as he noted that building a country is by building its people.
Recommendations
In defending his position, Mr Smith said, “We need to know what type of unemployment exists in our district because I don’t understand that we have certain programmes run in government and we not participating in the national programme… We need to be fully integrated into the government’s programme to make sure that any person employed in our district is getting the training that they need and the opportunity to find work.”
Smith contended that in order for there to be full transparency and that every person, be they a labourer or other skilled person, there should be an established register so that when it’s time for work to be done in the district, the Representative would know exactly who to call and to make sure that there is equal opportunity for all.
Respect people always, not only election time
Alluding to the words in the Territorial Song “that they may live in harmony”, Mr Smith, a former Postmaster General, said “We cannot in this day and age, as we lead people, only know somebody when it’s time to get a vote and during the rest of the term you don’t know them.”
He added, “You can’t hate or despise one group of the electorate and then come election time and say I want your support. We have to continue to build an inclusive society because I believe that so long as you are a Belonger, so long as you are a BVIslander all of us are citizens of the country and we need to be treated with equal respect.”
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25 Responses to “‘We can’t afford to keep importing ‘technical’ labour’- Kevin ‘OJ’ Smith”
Thank you OJ, now before you tell us that, please inform yo party of this breaking news!
His colleague just imported 15 fillipinos to work at his establishment.
Nonetheless, the BVI failed to effectively invest in its human capital to meet the growing demands of the new economy. A small population, coupled with rising demand for skilled workers, required recruiting expat workers. And after several decades, there is still a dearth of skilled local workers and still a great demand to recruit from overseas. Additionally, the shortage of skill local workers is exacerbated by the mistaken belief by too many locals that there is a stigma to working outdoors in non-airconditioned environment with their hands.
Moreover, expat workers contribute to the growth and development of the BVI, perform jobs that Virgin Islandes for the most part shun,enriched the culture, as well as provide business opporunities for local business owners, ie, retail customers, apartment and home rental....etc. The only down side, if any, is the leakage of money out the country. Annually, hundrred of thousand if not , millions of dollars leave the BVI economy. Money if stayed llocal could have created a multiplier effect in the economy.This is not a diss of expats; it is just discussing the economics. Expats are just filling a void and a need. Remittance is a cultural action of Caribbean nationals working overseas. In fact, remittances are part of the economy of many Caribbean countries. Further, sending money back to home countries is not uniquely Caribbean; all other expats workers do it. Be that as it may, what can the BVI do increase its skilled labour pool and employ more locals?
The BVI lost much time and missed opportunities to increase local participation in skilled jobs work force. It needs to embark on a comprehensive revamped of and investment in its education and training programme with the goal of preparing Virgin Islanders from Premier on down. It needs to be a long term, phased process, not a quick fix. The revamp must entail and extend from pre-K to the tertiary level. It must provide tracks for academics and vocational tech. Suggested plan: VICER 2035(Virgin Islands Comprehensive Education Revamp 2035).