The overwhelming majority of the island’s workforce is not academically qualified to access tertiary studies.

Minister of Education Ruel Reid made the revelation on Wednesday at Ardenne High School, where NCB Foundation presented its bursary of $13 million to the Government to allow 4,270 students from 116 schools around the country to sit Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) principles of accounts (POA) and principles of business (POB) examinations in May/June this year.

Reid, who brought the main address, said that 15 per cent of the current workforce has attained tertiary qualification, while another 15 per cent has some technical education, and the overwhelming majority, 70 per cent, have not achieved the minimum acceptable qualifications for entry into tertiary programmes.

Improving the situation, he argued, is being made easier with the intervention of corporate organisations like NCB.

“(NCB) is giving us that opportunity to make this bold aspiration (to get all youth to stay in school up to grade 13, and achieving at least a degree by age 30) far more realistic,” said Reid.

NCB Foundation started the NCB CSEC POA/POB National Bursary programme in 2003 with the intention of assisting high school students to meet the minimum qualification requirement for entering a tertiary institutions. The programme complements an exam subsidy the Ministry of Education provides in four core subjects — English language, maths, information technology, and a science subject.

But there was a gap, as the minimum requirement for university matriculation is either five or six CSEC subjects, depending on the institution.

“The NCB Foundation’s commitment to paying these fees allows students the opportunity to sit a total of at least six subjects at no cost to them,” the foundation said.

To qualify for the bursary:

• Each school must have a sit rate of 90 per cent in each subject over the last two years; and

• Students must have a pass mark of at least 70 per cent in the subject area.

The programme has paid over $141 million for 100,489 students since it began.

On Wednesday, Minister of Education Ruel Reid commended NCB for its continued support in ensuring that more students are afforded the opportunity to pursue tertiary education.

“I am sure that since this project was started 14 years ago, the lives of thousands of young people have been changed for the better. Your intervention has opened windows of opportunities for many,” the Minister said.