The Minister of Planning and Development, Camille Robinson Regis, accepted $100,000 USD along with technical support on behalf of the Government for the development of the National Manpower Plan.
According to a media release issued by the Ministry the support came on the behalf of the UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU) Project.
Minister Regis said she is happy that both organizations have arrived at this juncture, where a collaboration has been forged to ensure that a ten-year National Manpower Plan can be produced for Trinidad and Tobago.
Minister Robinson-Regis further add that the successful implementation of this project and its recommendations will move Trinidad and Tobago closer to achieving our collective national vision of a united, resilient, productive, innovative and prosperous nation.
“The development of a National Manpower Plan was undertaken based on research conducted by the Ministry of Planning and Development which revealed that there is a sense of urgency within the business sector to produce a Plan for Trinidad and Tobago. What the research identified was existence of skills gaps in areas within the local labour market.”
“This has also been confirmed by various surveys such as the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey 2010 and the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development’s Vacancy Survey Report 2012. In the Enterprise Survey, 30% of firms in Trinidad and Tobago stated that an inadequately educated workforce was a major constraint to business.”
Minister Robinson-Regis said a “National Manpower Plan would therefore serve to tackle these problems across the board within the education and employment systems of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Minister Robinson Regis and Marina Walter, Un Resident Coordinator
“The National Manpower Plan is also intended to address the structure of the manpower system and make recommendations to address any challenges that affect labour demand and supply within Trinidad and Tobago.”
The National Manpower Plan is projected to be completed by 2022.
Some of the other objectives of this Manpower Plan include:
- Closing the skills gap between labour demand and supply.
- Reform of the education and training system to provide appropriate / certifiable paths for students with varying abilities.
- Employment generation by facilitating and promoting the development of small businesses.
- The establishment of a database or National Registry of Skilled Individuals to be used for identification of certified skilled persons and measurement of the inventory of skills in the country.
- Career guidance to manage the expectation of entrants into the job market.
- Promotion of lifelong learning, given the aging population.
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