Shane Superville
Senior Reporter
shane.superville@guardian.co.tt
Last week, Guardian Media Ltd examined the current state of T&T’s job market and the working environment new university graduates would be entering as they begin their careers.
While many graduates struggle to find jobs due to saturation and “degree inflation,” (the practice of employers having unnecessarily high entry requirements for jobs) some graduates possess qualifications specifically suited to professions which may have limited vacancies locally.
These situations can lead professionals to look outside T&T for career opportunities.
The loss of skilled workers due to migration also known as “brain drain,” significantly impacts the long-term development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), like Trinidad and Tobago.
While higher salaries and a better quality of life are key factors in convincing professionals to stay, such changes can only come about through multi-stakeholder support.
With a limited number of available job opportunities when they graduate, many young people are seeking employment outside of Trinidad and Tobago.
Last year, at the American Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Outlook Forum, it was reported that most companies were experiencing between zero to five per cent attrition due to staff migration.
Figures provided by the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, show that 2,396 undergraduate students graduated this year, with the Faculty of Social Sciences having the highest number of graduates.
In response to these figures, economist Dr Vaalmiki Arjoon said brain drain lowers the potential for increased entrepreneurial activities decreasing the ability of the private sector to innovate and become more competitive.
During a panel discussion at the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Antigua in June, outmigration was identified as one of several major challenges affecting the Caribbean.
President of the Human Resource Management Association of T&T (HRMATT) Cavelle Joseph-St Omer said globalisation together with growth in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has added to the impact loss of skilled workers has had locally.
“The reality is that a number of developed countries have liberalised their policies for the admissions of highly skilled professionals.
“The problem lies in that this demand is met by nationals of countries like Trinidad and Tobago, triggering an exodus and resulting in a brain drain.”
UWI: Proper compensation, private sector support needed
Joseph-St Omer says while there is no single solution to brain drain, she believes investments in emerging sectors while stimulating traditional fields would partly mitigate the loss of skilled labour.
She said such a response should be jointly led by leaders in the public and private sectors.
Responding to Guardian Media’s questions via email, the UWI campus administration acknowledged the severity of the problems caused by brain drain, describing it as a “critical challenge.”
The UWI noted that graduates will be attracted to other countries with higher salaries or increased funding for research and development.
The university said that a “triple helix” model which integrates the combined efforts of academia, government and private industry was introduced to strengthen partnerships and create more opportunities for local professionals, but central to the success of these initiatives is adequate remuneration.
“By fostering collaborations with both local and international industries, we are creating more attractive career opportunities within Trinidad and Tobago. For instance, our campus is involved in initiatives that support climate-smart innovation, biotechnology, and sustainable development—fields that are crucial for both local and global progress.
“We believe too, that the private and public sectors also need to re-evaluate their compensation of highly qualified individuals.
“Our nation also needs to upgrade its skills base if we are to attain genuine developmental strides.”
The UWI added that an integral part of their programmes has been to inculcate a sense of social responsibility among students.
This awareness, they hoped would encourage graduates to remain in the region and contribute to its development.
Fewer OJTs allocated in public sector
The On-The-Job Training (OJT) programme was founded in March 2002 and is intended to provide practical work experience for students with secondary or tertiary-level qualifications.
The programme, which operates under the Ministry of Labour, has guided more than 150,000 trainees to jobs as of 2022.
Under the programme’s stipend structure, Level 4 trainees (graduates possessing an undergraduate degree), earn $7,562.50 monthly, while Level 5 trainees (graduates with a postgraduate degree) earn $8,712 monthly.
Data from the Ministry of Labour indicates that the number of OJTs assigned to public institutions has progressively declined from 2019 to the present.
The number of intakes with university degrees for the OJT programme peaked with 1’340, university-certified trainees between October 2020 and September 2021, but dropped to 777 trainees registered between October 2023 and September 2024.
These successive decreases in the number of trainees entering the programme have also been reflected in lower numbers of university-qualified trainees being assigned to public institutions for work.
The data reported that 1,306 trainees were assigned to public institutions from October 2020 to September 2021. This figure fell to 890 for the following period of October 2021 to September 2022.
There was another slight dip to 819 trainees in public institutions for the following period of October 2022 to September 2023. For the latest cycle of October 2023 to September 2024, only 694 trainees were assigned to public institutions.
No further information was provided for what led to the drop in the assignment of trainees to the public sector.
At a career fair in October, Minister of Public Administration Allyson West said there were 13,000 permanent job vacancies in the public sector.
Guardian Media sent questions through the ministry’s corporate communications unit via email on October 28 but did not receive any response up to Tuesday afternoon.
The questions sought to understand what the requirements are for the 13,000 jobs reported and what mechanisms are in place to prevent the loss of skilled professionals to migration.