Fresh on the heels of newly-appointed Chief Fisheries Officer Dr. Shelly-Ann Cox unveiling a plan to expand Barbados’ blue economy, the CEO of one regional recruitment service is hailing the fact that new jobs in sustainability could be forthcoming soon.
Caribbean Employment Services Inc. is a market-leading digital talent acquisition service that aims to connect the top talent from the Caribbean with hiring managers, HR professionals and decision-makers in companies both within the Caribbean as well as abroad. Further, it aims to provide the region’s jobseekers and those who are already employed with news and resources related to Caribbean labour.
The organization’s CEO, Joseph Boll, previously lamented that while the blue economy had been identified as an enormous, untapped resource in the Caribbean, seemingly little development had been made in that respect over the past year. Several international entities, along with regional economic experts and even some politicians, have all pointed to the sparse development of sustainable jobs in the blue and green economy in the Caribbean — despite a wealth of natural resources at our fingertips.
“Some countries have begun making movements in this area, and as an organization that strongly supports sustainable development, we have noted and lauded that,” said Boll. “But on a major scale, this has not yet translated into the numbers and levels of job opportunities that some experts envision it to be able to achieve.”
This, said Boll, is why a new loan by the World Bank could be a welcomed gamechanger where sustainability is concerned. The World Bank recently agreed to provide Barbados with some $100 million USD in financial support for sustainable development, which Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said would be used to help further jobs in the blue and green economies.
“Barbados has long been a leader in sustainable development, so it’s wonderful to see the nation’s leaders keeping up with that goal and committing to making sure the economy is headed in that direction,” said Boll. “Especially for the green economy, which you don’t usually hear of on the same scale as the blue economy. This could be a wonderful, welcome change for the region and Caribbean Employment Services Inc. is looking forward to the job growth that is to come.”
