Thursday, May 11 2006

After years of industry, this country has not yet put in place a system which would produce jobs in desired supply to absorb its tertiary institution graduates.

As a result, UWI grads continue to seek employment in the US and the UK. Not only is there availability of jobs in these countries, but the remuneration is much higher than in Trinidad and Tobago.

Admittedly, we have sought to accelerate industrialisation through the creation of new industrial estates and the expansion of existing estates, for example Point Lisas. We have also made natural gas available at attractive rates for energy- based companies wishing to invest.

Last week, UWI principal Dr Bhoe Tewarie, pointed out that the region was among the top regions in the world in the export of its intellectual capital. The UWI head named three of the countries in the region — Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago — as the prime countries with respect to the export of intellectual capital.

Tewarie saw as a major challenge to Trinidad and Tobago the issue of learning how to absorb all of its University graduates. “We have to do things in the national and regional economy to absorb these graduates or else we will have what we are having now... a significant brain drain in the region”.



Those countries which have been benefitting from our brain drain are not only in a better position to bear the cost of training their nationals to fill positions now being sought by UWI graduates, but their graduates have been trained at their own expense.

The initial and sensible decision by TT to pay the cost of tuition of nationals at UWI and other tertiary level institutions have led to more persons qualifying at the tertiary level.

What we need to do, and urgently, is to put systems in place which would lead to the creation of a level of skilled jobs in relation to the existing and anticipated number of graduates.