Minister with responsibility for skills and digital transformation in the Office of the Prime Minster Senator Dana Morris Dixon says Jamaica’s labour market now faces a crisis as 13 per cent of high school graduates fail to meet literacy and numeracy standards.

The keynote speaker, addressing the topic ‘Unleashing Jamaica’s Human Capital: Preparing for the Future’ at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Business Forum at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Tuesday, argued that the failure of high school graduates to meet literacy and numeracy standards was just one of five pain points that Jamaican employers will have to face as they scout for suitable candidates to fill positions.

Morris Dixon noted that the “deficiencies in numeracy and literacy in our high school graduates” was one of the findings in the Orlando Patterson report, which called for the restructuring of Jamaica’s education system in an effort to address economic stagnation.

“We noted 87 per cent adult literacy rate, which is below our counterparts in the region. It may sound okay to some people, but it’s not where we need to be. Thirteen per cent of adults not being literate is not anything to be happy about. It is something that we have to work on,” the minister pointed out.

“And in that report, too, it was clear that when you have this many individuals who are leaving high school without the requisite numeracy and literacy skills, it means that they are not ready necessarily for skills training…We have not given them the skills, we have not equipped them to be ready in that way, and this is a crisis!” she added.

Again comparing Jamaica to its Caribbean counterparts, Morris Dixon said that the country’s spend on education was either on the same level or more than other jurisdictions. Rather, she argued that since the shortfall in literacy and numeracy was not due to a lack of spending, it may mean that there needs to be more effective spending on education.

Morris Dixon’s comments were similar to those made last month at the PSOJ President’s Forum, during which Wilfred Baghaloo, deals lead at auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Jamaica, pointed out that Jamaica’s investment in education was on par with other Caribbean countries. Adding to this, executive director of Caribbean Policy Research Institute Dr Damien King argued that “the outcomes from education” do not reflect the investment made in that sector.

As such, Morris Dixon made the case for more “strategic investments in preparing our people for the future”. On this note, she pointed out that the Human Capital Development Oversight Committee progresses in addressing “this situation”, the PSOJ will have to be an important partner.

Another challenge Morris Dixon highlighted was learning loss occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, she said that the onset of the virus brought to the fore the “disparity” between those who have access to the tools of learning and the technology that can make learning easier and those who don’t have access.

Noting that, that variance in accessing learning has also contributed to the deficiencies in numeracy and literacy, the minister said there needs to be remediation at all levels of the education system, including at the tertiary level.

“Then, when we look at the economy…we have the lowest unemployment rate in history, which is a wonderful thing to say, and it is lovely to see that as a country we have been able to provide employment for a lot of people. But there is still underemployment and that’s an issue that we’ve not contended with and we need a lot more data on,” Morris Dixon bemoaned.

She added that the unemployment rate, as presented by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, may not reflect or capture people who are not actively looking for employment. In this regard, she called for more empirical data.

“We cannot be making policy in a vacuum; we have to have evidence in making policy,” she asserted.

Compression of the labour force, she said, was another challenge that the labour market was facing. This was due to migration of skilled personnel and tertiary-level trained individuals, declining birth rate, and non-communicable diseases reducing the lifespan of the workforce.

In looking at how Jamaica addresses these challenges, Morris Dixon said closer attention needs to be placed on the Human Capital index.

“This index is a measurement of a country’s investment in its people and their well-being, and it encompasses education, health care, skills development, and employment opportunities. By focusing on the development of human capital, a country ensures that its citizens can reach their full potential, contributing to economic growth and social stability,” the senator outlined.

In 2020, Jamaica scored 53 per cent on the Human Capital index. According to Morris Dixon, the country’s score ranked lower than others in Latin America and the Caribbean and below the average for countries classified as middle-income jurisdictions.