Jamaican nationals have accounted for the most certificate of recognition of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) skills qualifications issued by the Barbados Accreditation Council (BAC) for the past two years.
This trend continued during the April to June 2023 quarter, when Jamaican nationals accounted for 46 of the total 97 CARICOM Skills Certificates issued during that period.
Nationals from Trinidad and Tobago accounted for 14; Barbados (11); Guyana (8) Haiti (5); St Lucia (5); St Vincent and the Grenadines (3); Dominica (2); Suriname (1); Grenada (1); and Antigua and Barbuda (1).
For the April to June 2023 quarter, a total of 110 CARICOM Skills Certificates applications were received by the BAC and 97 certificates were issued.
This represents a six per cent and 35 per cent decrease, respectively, when compared to the January to March quarter when a total of 117 certificate applications were received by the BAC and 147 certificates were issued.
During the April to June review period, 25 certificate verification requests were made and 24 certificates were verified. This also represented a decline from the previous quarter when those numbers were 39 and 46, respectively.
For the period under review, the largest number of the 97 certificates issued were to those applying under the category of graduate (29). This was followed by household domestic (24), which the BAC said when added to the 21 issued the previous quarter, “puts it on pace to record a yearly tally that is significantly higher than 2022’s tally and more than the tally amassed throughout the entirety of the past eight years”.
Other categories which saw the issuance of certificates during the April to June period were artisan (18); holder of an associate degree (10); artiste (7) security guard (4); agriculture worker (3); nurse (1) and musician (1).
During the first quarter of this year, the highest number of certificates were also issued to nationals from Jamaica (72), followed by Barbadians (19), nationals from Trinidad and Tobago (13), and nationals from Haiti (10).
There were 9 certificates issued to nationals of St Vincent and the Grenadines during the January to March quarter, 8 to Guyana nationals, 7 to nationals from St Lucia, 4 to Dominican nationals, 2 to nationals from St Kitts and Nevis, while one each went to nationals from Grenada, Suriname and Montserrat.
According to the BAC, “historically, Barbadian nationals have accounted for upwards of 50 per cent of recipients of CARICOM Skills Certificates in most cases. However, 2021 onwards has seen Jamaica nationals becoming the most common applicants for CARICOM Skills Certificates”.
Majority of the certificates issued for both quarters were to individuals between the ages of 26 and 30 years. While only 9 certificates were issued to individuals over 50 years during the April to June quarter, 14 such certificates were issued to that age group during the January to March period. (MM)
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