Improving free movement of regional workers key

A CONCERTED effort is on the way to facilitate the free movement of artisans and household domestics in the region, many of whom are daunted by the process or unaware of the opportunities that exist within the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

The initiative was explained by Executive Coordinator of the Caribbean Policy Development Centre, Shantal Munro-Knight, who was speaking during a two-day workshop at the Blue Horizon Hotel in Barbados on the free movement of artisans and household domestics.

CPDC Executive Coordinator Shantal Munro-Knight
while outlining some of the challenges facing artisans
and household domestics in the region.

Stressing that free movement is at the heart of the integration process, and a critical plank in terms of moving the CSME forward, she observed that the approach chosen by the heads of government for the implementation of the CSME often relies on an administrative infrastructure that is either not present or underdeveloped in some states.

“The removal of these impediments would require that these infrastructure throughout the region be upgraded and/or the approach of the implementation of the CSME simplified,” she said.

She told participants of the workshop that a study done in 2010, commissioned by the CARICOM Secretariat, showed that people were still using the work permit regime more so than the skills regime. Even for categories of people that were better able to take advantage of the provisions in the categories of skills earlier identified.

“We have a process, but more work needs to be done to ensure that it works at its maximum,” Munro-Knight explained.

“Our objective is to say to our artisans and domestics, ‘you have a right that you can legally move’. So we want to encourage them to use the regime that has been set up too allow them to move and to ensure they have some level of protection in the context of accessing those rights.”

“[The] process could be a little bit daunting for them. Even for artisans as well. We wanted to make sure we balance the scales and ensure they not only will be able to access the rights, but also have the necessary support within the support to ensure they fully enjoy those rights.”

She said that a study in 2004 revealed that persons in the region view the  process as something that is removed, and it is just for academics and professionals. “And at the first barrier that they come up against they tend to disengage.”

Also to be addressed in the project is the inadequate information on or short supply of employment opportunities. She said that for artisans for example, there is a need to create a network in order to have a greater voice or keep abreast of the issues to which they are directly affected.“We believe that the CSME process is critical to the growth of the region, and if we can find a process to ensure that we use all of the capacities of the region’s people, then that would be to our benefit.

So having a working regime is in the benefit of all of us.

People have to be able to understand the opportunities that exist.”

She noted that while comprehensive records of the utilisation of the rights of movement are still lacking, based on the information the main sending countries have been identified as Jamaica and Guyana; and the main receiving countries as St. Kitts, Barbados and T&T. These are the five countries that will be used during the project.

The coordinator further explained that an innovative pillar in the project includes the building out of support services  for domestics when they actually move. She revealed that national partners in each country have agreed to provide those support services. (JH)

Riley: Member countries benefit when they work together

SECRETARY-GENERAL of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Hugh Riley, believes that the Caribbean region needs to come together as one and pool its resources and market the destination more effectively.

“When we come together and market the Caribbean brand, every member country who participates benefits,” he stressed.

“The last time we did this, which was right after the crisis of 9-11, business went up around 11 per cent and everyone realised there is a benefit in pooling resources. You see, individually, none of us has the size of a budget to be powerful enough to make the kind of noise to make the kind of impact out there in the competitive market place, but once we pool our resources, we see the results. That’s what we must do.”

Inconsistent progress

However, he pointed out that the recent CTO State of the Industry Conference is a continuation of the effort of pooling resources together.

According to him, individual member countries are doing what they must do.

“There is no question about that. So progress is being made, but it is spotty, it is inconsistent. What we really need to do is to have a reliable, consistent, sustainable fund, such as our competitors are doing to market themselves as destinations. We in the Caribbean must do the same.”

Diversifying economies

Riley further acknowledged that there is a long discussion going on in many places about diversifying the Caribbean economies, and finding alternative sources of foreign exchange.

“I think that’s fine, but what we have now and what the rest of the world has jumped on board to get a piece of, is this very lucrative, very resilient, very exciting tourism pie. People all over the world are really declaring by their actions that they feel they have a right to travel, and we in the Caribbean are a magnet for attracting people who feel they have a right to travel.

“We have the resources, in terms of the human resources; we have the natural resources in terms of the beauty; we have the tranquility and peace and stability to attract them. We need to be able to market ourselves effectively and clearly we have to fix the business of accessibility – air service is still an issue which always require our attention,” he said. (TL)

Region needs its people

AS Caribbean citizens, now is the time to focus on what we can do for our countries and not on what our countries can do for us.

We need patriots who can think, solve problems, combine heart and head, value people and do what needs to be done in the sustainable development interest of all the people in the countries.

This is the view of Managing Director of the Caribbean Centre for Excellence for Youth Entrepreneurship, Marcia Brandon. She highlighted the recent swearing in speech of the incoming Chancellor of the University of Trinidad & Tobago (UTT), which she described as timely and very apt.

“President Anthony Carmona noted that Trinidad and Tobago has been producing “yes” men and women far too long and spinelessness has become institutionalised.

“He told the people that citizens of that country needed to be patriots. He said logic and reason are in short supply and ‘it is men and women of status, rank and letters who have failed this country’. He said UTT was intended as a vehicle to produce innovators who could impact national development. He cited an urgent need to attract the private sector and teach students about employment.”

According Brandon, President Carmona asked rhetorically who failed that country and noted that it is not the men with cutlass or whacker, but rather the men of status, rank and letters. He urged people to use the investment which the country is making to help them to make a great shift from being mere citizens to that of patriots. “If men have talent but lack character, this breeds brilliant monsters,” Carmona said. “It is talent with character that produces world citizens.”

This address, Brandon said, is suited to the citizens of all the countries in this region. “Our treasuries are hurting, the coffers are low, jobs are scarce, the cost of living is high and our children, youth, women and men are in problems. We have to become entrepreneurial citizens.”

She challenged that the way sustainable development is looked at must be re-evaluated. “Sustainability everywhere equals sound leadership. Sound leadership requires sound, principled people. We need to show our people we value them as human beings and as assets.

“We must start helping our people to change their mindsets and behaviours so they can become problem solvers, critical thinkers, self-reliant and resilient, givers rather than takers. We need to stop institutionalising spinelessness and producing brilliant monsters,” she said. (JH)

Money maker – Caribbean must take advantage of billion-dollar animation industry

The Caribbean has the potential to become the centre of animation excellence, thereby attracting
outsourcing work from major studios in Hollywood and other places.

This is according to Phil Phillips, a local consultant for Toon Boom Animation, who spoke with the media recently at an animation training workshop at the Barbados Defence Force (BDF).

He stated that this is a billion dollar industry  which could create several employment opportunities for the youth in the region.

“Our mission for the Caribbean is to stimulate the development of the region as the next animation hub. Why animation hub? Because the animation industry requires quite a bit of labour. It is also attractive for young people who are looking for careers. Certainly in terms of the demand for content, that is almost exponential now in the sense that through your computers, your iPads, your tablets, your digital devices such as even the mobile phones, the demand for content is extremely high. This industry is now a US$200 billion industry.”

He noted that this company was instrumental in developing the growth of the animation industry in India and the Philippines, to the point where major studios in Hollywood outsource their work to persons there.

Phillips added that he would like to see the Caribbean get their share of this pie and he believes that the region offers a viable option since geographically speaking it is closer to North America; it offers an attractive destination for Hollywood studios to visit; and the young people in this region are creative and fast learners.

“We think that we have a lot of the pre-requisites that are required to build the Caribbean as an animation hub and we have started doing this over the last two years,” he said.

In fact, there is a new studio in Jamaica that has managed to get outsourced work from Europe, which has led to further opportunities for the persons involved in the industry in that island.

The consultant stated that before we can even think of attracting outsourcing work to the region, we must ensure that we have the skilled labour to be able to do that work.

“Now the challenge that we have in the Caribbean is which comes first, the chicken or the egg? We can get the outsourcing contracts, but when we get the outsourcing contracts, we may compromise those contracts because we do not have the trained talent.”

Therefore, some of the young people are currently going through a six-week training course where they would learn   “how to achieve global standards and they [would then be] able to conduct training to introduce animation to other young people. So this is pivotal because it is in preparation of outsourcing contracts for Barbadian studios on one hand, but it is also on the other hand, an opportunity to train other young people in the animation industry because we need hundreds of people to be trained in animation to make it an industry.”

Currently 21 young people from West Toons and the Caribbean Digital Media Centre (CDMC) – both of which are on the verge of attracting outsourcing work – are undergoing training. (PJT)

US ties with C’bean still strong

Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean can expect great things in their future as it pertains to the relations between them and the United States of America.

That was the message from Yolonda Kerney, the new Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, as she and the two other new members of staff at the Embassy spoke during their welcome reception to the Grenada Advocate.

From left: Ralph Hamilton, Management Counsellor;
Chief Political and Economic Officer, Nicholle Manz; and
Public Affairs Officer, Yolonda Kerney, with Dr. Larry Palmer,
US Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

The Welcome Reception, which was held at the residence of the US Ambassador, Dr. Larry Palmer, was an opportunity for the newest members to not only be welcomed, but also be introduced to many of the people they may be working with over the next three years.

The reception welcomed Yolonda Kerney, the New Public Affairs Officer; Nicholle Manz, who is the Section Chief in the department of Political and Economic Affairs; and Ralph Hamilton, who will
be working as the Management Counsellor.

The three new additions, who would have arrived two months ago and have already commenced working, expressed that they were excited to be in Barbados and looked forward to working heavily with all of the nations of the Eastern Caribbean.

As noted by Kerney, “Every country is different. Every country is like a person. Every person is different, even if they look similar and have similar accents, they have their own personalities and their own sort of vibe, so that is the joy of the foreign service for me, sort of figuring out how things are done here, how people think and function here. That is the great joy of this job.”

As noted by Kerney, “If I had to have a message for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, it’s that I think that the United States is a strong and frankly irreplaceable partner when it comes to many of the things in my present portfolio.”

Continuing, she further noted, “Really, just to look at the history of our relations in this region and look at our commitment in this region, that’s our past and our present and we expect great things in our future relations.”

With the fiscal year commencing just a couple of weeks ago, Kerney explained that they were now looking at programmes that had worked well in the past, as well as those that they believe can and will work even better in the future.

High demand for quality statistics

There is an increasing demand for timely, high quality official statistics from administrative sources within the national statistical system.

Making this assertion, CARICOM’s Regional Statistics Project Director, Dr. Philomen Harrison, said that many strides have been made and are being made by statisticians of the region, including work implemented to develop strategic plans for statistics, known as National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS).

According to him, these could lead to integrated and well-functioning National Statistical Systems of all statistical producing agencies, with the NSO at the centre of the process.

“The development of the National Statistical System requires this overarching master plan, NSDS, to facilitate the dialogue that is required among key stakeholders, including suppliers of information, in order to guide the process of co-ordination of statistics at the national level and hence, the availability of timely and high quality statistics for decision-making,” he noted.

Commenting on the linkages between the NSDS and the updated Regional Statistical Work Programme (RSWP), which has been produced to enable harmonised statistics that conform to internationally recommended standards, he noted that as part of the RSWP, many frameworks  already exist and are being implemented/or about to be implemented in countries, and these include Core Indicators in areas of Social/Gender Statistics; in Environment Statistics; Caribbean Specific Millennium Development Goals Indicators; Caribbean Specific ICT Indicators and the Minimum Data Set comprising all of the above.

“...Processes and infrastructure such as the Classification Systems; Data Warehousing Systems; Data Submission Protocols we need to adopt and implement so to equalise, as far as possible, our statistics across the region in terms of the comparability, soundness, timeliness and other measures of quality,” Harrison said.

He made the comments earlier this week at the 38th meeting of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians.

Brand Caribbean – How well is it known in emerging markets?

HOW ready is the Caribbean to attract and welcome tourists from emerging markets such as China, Russia and Brazil?

Paul Cohen, Vice President of Optriant, a travel and hospitality industry consultancy, says that the region cannot attack these markets with one toe in the water. Success will be determined by our ability to project a solid Caribbean brand in these markets, whilst taking with us a well-researched and integrated plan involving all stakeholders, from Tourism boards to taxi-drivers.

Cohen was one of the featured speakers at the recently concluded Caribbean Tourism Organisation State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC 2013), which took place in Martinique.

Painting the Caribbean as a desirable location for emerging markets, he said a lack of destination awareness in booming outbound markets, if not addressed soon, would hurt us badly as the global tourism market continued to diversify.

The travel and tourism expert focused on several practical areas we could address to show our readiness. Focusing on China, Russia and Brazil, he suggested that countries work on having hotels and attractions with personnel who spoke the language of the inbound guests, that they ensured high-end shopping experiences to meet the tastes of these travellers, and that they boosted their Public Relations efforts to raise awareness.

In fact, Cohen noted that the Caribbean brand was not strong in China, a thunderous nation expected to be the number 1 inbound market to the USA by 2018.

“Right now, when any of these emerging markets look, if they are going to travel, they know what to expect within Asia, within Europe, they know USA, but their awareness level within the Caribbean isn’t there right now,” Cohen stated.

Contrary to those who have said that it would be difficult to attract the Chinese market, as what the region had to offer could be found easily in Asia and other closer territories, Cohen said that with a Chinese middle-class larger than the population of the USA, and with increasing wealth and the appreciation of China’s currency, Chinese outbound tourists were now more open to travelling to far flung destinations in search of something different to explore. And when they did so, Cohen remarked, they were looking for high quality – 4 and 5 star accommodation, luxury shopping and off the beaten track experiences.

Besides ensuring that there were persons on the ground who were fluent on Mandarin, Cohen also pointed out that Chinese guests had several expectations, which included being served “Congee” for breakfast (a traditional rice porridge) and having other amenities like Chinese teas (and tea pots), as well as toothbrushes. He added that it would help to have at least one television channel in Mandarin and that we needed to have in place payment facilities that accepted Chinese or credit cards from China Merchant Bank and China UnionPay.

The Optriant VP, who co-founded Partner Concepts LLC in 2002 and served as the Vice Chairman of the Corporate Council on Africa Tourism committee in 2008, stated that Brazil was naturally an “easier target market,” due to its geographical proximity.

He pointed to opportunities in the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) market, noting that with the growth of Fortune 500 companies in Brazil, the Caribbean was an ideal location for those which did business both in Latin and North America. (RA)