Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Acronyms and Abbreviations -- 1. Introduction and Summary: The Eastern Caribbean Economy is Transforming and so should the Education System -- Main Findings -- Recommendations -- 2. School Matters: The Crucial Role of Skills in the New Eastern Caribbean Economy -- 3. Preparing Youth for the Labor Market -- A General Disconnect between the Education Sector and the Labor Market -- The Relevance of Secondary Education -- Specific Skills Sought in Today's World of Work -- Improving Availability and Relevance of Professional Skills -- Policy Recommendations to Improve Relevance of Formal Education -- 4. From School to Work: Building Skills for Youth's Transition to the Labor Market -- Policy Recommendations to Improve the Transition from School to Work -- 5. Training the Work Force -- Policy Recommendations to Increase Training of the Labor Force -- 6. Improving the Link between School and Work: What are the Next Steps? -- Policy Suggestions to Improve the Relevance of Formal Education -- Policy Suggestions to Assist Youth in the Transition from School to the Labor Market -- Policy Suggestions to Increase Job Training of the Work Force -- Appendixes -- A. Executive Summary: Monitoring Educational Performance in the Caribbean -- B. Summary of Public Expenditure Reviews in the Caribbean Published 2005-06 -- References -- TABLE 1. Low Enrollment and Low Private Investment in Post-Secondary Education -- TABLE 2. Ranking of the OECS Labor Regulations -- TABLE 3. Costs and Impact of Programs Vary -- TABLE 4. An Overview of the Caribbean Vocational Qualification Framework -- FIGURE 1. The Transforming OECS Economy -- FIGURE 2. Education, The Ultimate Poverty Fighter (Wage, Age, and Education in St.Vincent and the Grenadines) -- FIGURE 3. Lack of Skills Considered the Biggest Obstacle for Grenadian Firms.

FIGURE 4. Grenadian Skills Gap Most Severe in the Western Hemisphere -- FIGURE 5. New Jobs in the Services Demand Skills (Grenada) -- FIGURE 6. CXC Pass Rates, 2003 -- FIGURE 7. The Decline of Routine and Manual Tasks -- FIGURE 8. St. Kitts and Nevis: Employers' Desired Skills -- FIGURE 9. Caribbean: Employers' Desired Skills -- FIGURE 10. Source of Revenue for Post-Secondary Education -- FIGURE 11. Exceptionally High Youth Unemployment in the OECS -- FIGURE 12. Youth Unemployment to Total Unemployment -- FIGURE 13. A Look at Youth Unemployment in St. Lucia -- FIGURE 14. Most Crime in Jamaica is Committed by Youth -- FIGURE 15. Reasons for Leaving Last Job -- FIGURE 16. A 36 Percent Decline in Births in St.Vincent and the Grenadies over 20 Years Increases the Importance of Upgrading Skills in the Labor Force -- FIGURE 17. Firm Training in Grenada Can Be Enhanced -- FIGURE 18. Factors Influencing Firm Training in Grenada -- FIGURE B1. Record High Public Spending in the Caribbean -- BOX 1. Key Statistics to Remember -- BOX 2. What Do Firms and Investors in the OECS Say About Availability of Skills? -- BOX 3. What is Driving the Rising Demand for Skilled Labor? -- BOX 4. Definitions of Skills Concepts -- BOX 5. Did the Disconnect between Education and Labor Market Needs Arise from Past Endowment and Policies? -- BOX 6. How UK Learning and Skills Councils Coordinate Demand and Supply of Skills at the Local Level -- BOX 7. Jobs in Business Require Expert Thinking and Complex Communication -- BOX 8. The Teaching of Life Skills is also a Major Challenge in OECD Countries -- BOX 9. Global Best Practice on Governance of Post-secondary Education Institutions -- BOX 10. Impact of the Youth Training Programs in Argentina and Chile -- BOX 11. The Caribbean Vocational Qualification Framework (CVQ).

BOX 12. The Barbados TVET Council Employment and Training Fund (ETF) -- BOX 13. Demand-driven Work-based Training: The Chef Program in Jamaica.

This book reviews current education and skills training options in the Eastern Caribbean and asks whether the prevailing education policies adequately prepare youth for the global economy. It provides in-depth analysis and relevant international cutting-edge practices to guide policymakers, educators and private sector leaders in fostering a creative, productive and well-paid workforce. Specifically, it makes the case for why the OECS education and training systems need to be more responsive to changing labor market demands in the region, and discusses how this could be achieved, taking into consideration the latest education and training policies.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.