The Democratic People’s Movement (DPM) has developed a major apprenticeship and skills development initiative designed to tackle Grenada’s growing shortage of skilled workers, while creating meaningful opportunities for young Grenadians.
The initiative is part of the DPM’s policy portfolio and broader vision to enhance Grenada’s economy and expand opportunities for young people.
The country cannot keep importing skilled labour without building Grenadians’; capacity to fill those positions, said DPM executive member Stanford Simon.
“You need to have persons accompanying construction companies, and you give them an incentive to take on young men and women to be able to get them into the construction field,” Simon commented in a television interview.
He pointed to the shortage of masons, carpenters, plumbers, tilers and other skilled trades as an increasingly serious constraint on Grenada’s development.
Simon, who has had his own construction business, is the DPM’s candidate for St. George South East in the soon-to-be-held general election.
He has taken the message for an increased number of Grenadian tradesmen and women to the campaign trail and in meet-the-people engagements with fellow DPM members, including Political Leader Peter David.
The DPM believes apprenticeship must become a deliberate national strategy, beginning in the school system, while also providing opportunities for young people who already have left school.
“You have to go back to the primary and the secondary schools, but even those who are older,’’ said Simon. “Let the folks know what is available in the trades.’’
He also proposed a mechanism for ensuring that foreign skilled workers brought into Grenada contribute to local skills development, rather than simply completing projects and leaving.
“You can’t just bring in people, and they work, and they leave,” Simon said. “If you have a situation where you talk with the construction company, you bring in people, but the condition is, that you need to hire younger people and put them to work with you.”
According to Simon, this approach would allow foreign expertise to bridge the gap and develop Grenadian talent.
The DPM also sees scholarships and targeted technical education as part of the solution.
Simon suggested that government could establish a dedicated fund for Grenadians pursuing studies in priority skills where the country faces urgent shortages.
“You need them urgently,” he said, emphasizing the need to plan now for the workforce Grenada will require over the next five to ten years.
The DPM maintains that its forthcoming policy portfolio will focus not simply on creating jobs, but on building skills, expanding earning power and ensuring that young Grenadians are prepared to participate meaningfully in the country’s economic future.
