Bahamians Should Be Concern About Lost Opportunities
BY KENDENO N. KNOWLES:
Bahamians should be concerned about the number of job opportunities being lost because of the country’s unqualified workforce, according to Free National Movement (FNM) Senator Michael Pintard.
He was making his contribution to the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) Bill debate in the upper chamber yesterday.
The senator said foreigners are constantly being brought in to take on thousands of local job opportunities – something he says Bahamians should be concerned about.
Mr. Pintard was referring to the 5,000 plus Chinese workers that Baha Mar Resort is planning to bring in for construction on the mega luxury resort property.
"It is with some distress that I heard recently the intention of one of the developments in The Bahamas to import a large number of foreign workers," Mr. Pintard said.
Baha Mar officials recently confirmed that the Chinese workers were being brought into the country in stages to carry out specialty work, which executives claim Bahamian workers are unable to carry out.
"At the time when Atlantis was in its early stages of its development the identical statement was made, which I also heard recently. [That statement by developers of the new resort property] pointed to the fact that there were not enough qualified Bahamians to populate the various positions," Mr. Pintard said.
"If this is the case then all of us have good reason to be concerned because the development pattern of this country is such that we must have seen additional developments such as the one coming on stream."
He questioned why there has not been anything done in order to prepare Bahamians to take advantage of these opportunities.
"I recall quite distinctly drywall courses being offered at BTVI in conjunction with Atlantis to create a cadre of workers in order to take advantage of the opportunity and any other subsequent opportunities," he said.
"Again, it is crucial that we never find ourselves in a similar position in the future. It is my hope that in the execution of what emerges from this bill that we put ourselves in a position where we carefully assess the emerging needs on the horizon in order to prepare our population to be the chief benefactor of these opportunities. BTVI must also continue to deepen its relationship with industry partners locally, nationally and internationally. Luckily this wonderful bill speaks specifically to this issue."
He continued: "It is important for us to train persons to populate all fields in technical and vocational areas, including the fields that others are claiming we do not have the requisite skills."
May 6, 2010
jonesbahamas
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Showing posts with label BTVI Bill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BTVI Bill. Show all posts
Friday, May 7, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Ryan Pinder misses first chance to vote as a Member of Parliament
Ryan Pinder misses first chance to vote as MP
By PAUL G TURNQUEST
Tribune Staff Reporter
pturnquest@tribunemedia.net:
DESPITE enduring heavy criticism for having voted in the United States but never in the Bahamas, Ryan Pinder has yet to cast a vote in his homeland - missing his first chance as the newly-elected MP for Elizabeth.
Mr Pinder is again taking flack for his voting record, this time because he passed up the opportunity to formally support the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Bill in Parliament on Wednesday.
The MP defended his absence yesterday, saying he had a previous engagement, and pointed out that he expressed his support for the Bill during the House debate, describing it as a "fundamental component" of achieving the results he promised to his constituents during his campaign in terms of training small business development.
He went on to declare his intention to vote "every time" in the House of Assembly; however the FNM were quick to point out that so far, the new MP's parliamentary voting record stands at "0 for 1".
Carl Bethel, the FNM chairman and MP for Seabreeze, said he and some of his colleagues had planned to stand and applaud Mr Pinder when it came time for the House to take a vote on the Bill.
He said the MP was noticeably absent from the lower chamber, which led to an outburst of laughter from the governing side.
"We were ready to stand and cheer," Mr Bethel exclaimed. "Because finally he would have voted in the Bahamas. But alas we were denied that privilege.
"We can only hope that before this legislative year is over, Mr Pinder would have exercised his constitutional right," Mr Bethel quipped.
Addressing the chairman's remarks, Mr Pinder said he intends to vote "every time" he is required to in the House of Assembly. However, as for Wednesday's session, the Elizabeth MP said he had a previous speaking engagement that was set "a long time before the legislative session was set out."
"I support the BTVI Bill, and I have expressed that in the House and would vote in favour it. So I don't understand what (Mr Bethel) means. I wouldn't understand why they would jump up and down on a piece of legislation. It sounds juvenile to me and certainly sounds like they are preoccupied with Ryan Pinder and not the business of running this country," Mr Pinder shot back.
However, the MP's former rival for the Elizabeth constituency said that it appears Mr Pinder's priorities are not in the right place.
Dr Duane Sands said: "I think it's a bit disappointing that after waiting such a long time for representation, at the first opportunity that the people of Elizabeth would have a chance to have their voices heard on an important vote, their representative was not available."
Looking forward to the rest of the legislative year, Dr Sands said he hoped the people of Elizabeth's concerns would attract more attention from their MP.
Speaking on the matter before the vote, Mr Pinder told the House he supports the Bill, and hoped it wasn't "too little, too late".
He said: "I support it, Mr Speaker, because I promised my constituents, the good constituents of Elizabeth that I am a 21st century politician, focused on training and small business development.
"This Bill is a fundamental component to achieving these goals, short term and long term.
"This Bill is the crux in developing the skills labour necessary to build today's Bahamas and to ensure economic expansion on a sustained basis from among a segment of our society who may never get the opportunity to travel beyond these borders for tertiary education. So on behalf of the good people of Elizabeth, I lend my support to this Bill which is long overdue."
April 23, 2010
tribune242
By PAUL G TURNQUEST
Tribune Staff Reporter
pturnquest@tribunemedia.net:
DESPITE enduring heavy criticism for having voted in the United States but never in the Bahamas, Ryan Pinder has yet to cast a vote in his homeland - missing his first chance as the newly-elected MP for Elizabeth.
Mr Pinder is again taking flack for his voting record, this time because he passed up the opportunity to formally support the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Bill in Parliament on Wednesday.
The MP defended his absence yesterday, saying he had a previous engagement, and pointed out that he expressed his support for the Bill during the House debate, describing it as a "fundamental component" of achieving the results he promised to his constituents during his campaign in terms of training small business development.
He went on to declare his intention to vote "every time" in the House of Assembly; however the FNM were quick to point out that so far, the new MP's parliamentary voting record stands at "0 for 1".
Carl Bethel, the FNM chairman and MP for Seabreeze, said he and some of his colleagues had planned to stand and applaud Mr Pinder when it came time for the House to take a vote on the Bill.
He said the MP was noticeably absent from the lower chamber, which led to an outburst of laughter from the governing side.
"We were ready to stand and cheer," Mr Bethel exclaimed. "Because finally he would have voted in the Bahamas. But alas we were denied that privilege.
"We can only hope that before this legislative year is over, Mr Pinder would have exercised his constitutional right," Mr Bethel quipped.
Addressing the chairman's remarks, Mr Pinder said he intends to vote "every time" he is required to in the House of Assembly. However, as for Wednesday's session, the Elizabeth MP said he had a previous speaking engagement that was set "a long time before the legislative session was set out."
"I support the BTVI Bill, and I have expressed that in the House and would vote in favour it. So I don't understand what (Mr Bethel) means. I wouldn't understand why they would jump up and down on a piece of legislation. It sounds juvenile to me and certainly sounds like they are preoccupied with Ryan Pinder and not the business of running this country," Mr Pinder shot back.
However, the MP's former rival for the Elizabeth constituency said that it appears Mr Pinder's priorities are not in the right place.
Dr Duane Sands said: "I think it's a bit disappointing that after waiting such a long time for representation, at the first opportunity that the people of Elizabeth would have a chance to have their voices heard on an important vote, their representative was not available."
Looking forward to the rest of the legislative year, Dr Sands said he hoped the people of Elizabeth's concerns would attract more attention from their MP.
Speaking on the matter before the vote, Mr Pinder told the House he supports the Bill, and hoped it wasn't "too little, too late".
He said: "I support it, Mr Speaker, because I promised my constituents, the good constituents of Elizabeth that I am a 21st century politician, focused on training and small business development.
"This Bill is a fundamental component to achieving these goals, short term and long term.
"This Bill is the crux in developing the skills labour necessary to build today's Bahamas and to ensure economic expansion on a sustained basis from among a segment of our society who may never get the opportunity to travel beyond these borders for tertiary education. So on behalf of the good people of Elizabeth, I lend my support to this Bill which is long overdue."
April 23, 2010
tribune242
Dr Bernard Nottage: ... "far too many Bahamians" leave school without the necessary skills either to join the workforce or go on to further education
School leavers 'in skills crisis'
By ALISON LOWE
Tribune Staff Reporter
alowe@tribunemedia.net:
SOCIETY is in crisis as "far too many Bahamians" leave school without the necessary skills either to join the workforce or go on to further education, MP for Bain and Grants Town Dr Bernard Nottage said.
Speaking in parliament yesterday, the MP suggested the Bahamian population is "not as literate as we claim to be" and an "urgent review" of the education system is in order.
He went on to claim that the education system must be "placed in the hands of visionaries and social reformers" if it is to play the socially transformative role that is necessary to help The Bahamas escape the "disastrous" situation it finds itself in.
Dr Nottage made his comments in the context of the debate in the House of Assembly on the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute Bill, which seeks to deliver independence to the technical training school by incorporating it and placing it under the governance of a Board made up of public and private sector-based individuals.
The Government introduced the Bill as one which will enhance the reputation of the institution and cause it to create graduates who are more relevant to today's economy.
Dr Nottage "congratulated" the Government on the Bill, welcoming the fact that it removes political interference from the administration of the institution after 61 years of its existence, but said it must be looked at in the context of the Bahamian educational system as a whole.
The PLP MP said that despite successive governments investing an "extremely large" proportion of the country's national income on education and expanding enrollment over the years, the country's "national patrimony and wealth" is being "squandered as more and more Bahamians pass through a system which does not effectively prepare them for the mastery of their environment in our Bahamas."
He lamented that "quantitative" rather than "qualitative" improvements have been made to the system.
"Having once been the railroad to social mobility and liberation" education in The Bahamas is in need of "urgent review" and a "broad range of innovations," said the MP.
Illustrating his point, Dr Nottage suggested the Bahamas is "fooling itself" when it comes to its levels of educational literacy as many people lack basic knowledge when they leave school.
"We need to look carefully at general and basic literacy. We know the truth tells us we are not as literate as we claim to be, particular at mathematics and elementary understanding of science, which is absolutely necessary for success in today's economy," he said.
Referring to the "poor or unsatisfactory BGCSE results" which have hovered at a D or D- average for some time, he said these "are nothing less than the festering tip of an even greater problem."
"Far too many Bahamians leave school prepared for neither further education or for the workplace. And I say now as I said a decade ago disaster looms - in fact disaster is here...because of our failure to take decisive action."
"It is my deep-seated belief that Bahamian society is in crisis," he continued.
He linked this situation to a "too long" existing tendency to study problems but not act, mentioning in particular the failure to implement the recommendations of a 1992 report on the post secondary education system which he suggested could have helped the country avoid ending up in the position he claims it now finds itself in.
"As we go forward education can play one of two roles. On the one hand it can reflect and enforce and reproduce the existing social order with all of its injustices and failures and its tendency towards chaos or we can place the educational system in the hands of visionaries and social reformers and it can be used as a major weapon for social transformation.
"I'm sure all of us would choose the latter but it does requires us to give up some of the reigns and some of the control, allow those who are best suited to doing so to run these systems."
He said that it is with this need for politicians to step back from the decision-making process as it relates to education that he supported the BTVI Bill, which increases the independence of that institutions as it relates to its curriculum, hiring, student admissions and awards, among other things.
April 22, 2010
tribune242
By ALISON LOWE
Tribune Staff Reporter
alowe@tribunemedia.net:
SOCIETY is in crisis as "far too many Bahamians" leave school without the necessary skills either to join the workforce or go on to further education, MP for Bain and Grants Town Dr Bernard Nottage said.
Speaking in parliament yesterday, the MP suggested the Bahamian population is "not as literate as we claim to be" and an "urgent review" of the education system is in order.
He went on to claim that the education system must be "placed in the hands of visionaries and social reformers" if it is to play the socially transformative role that is necessary to help The Bahamas escape the "disastrous" situation it finds itself in.
Dr Nottage made his comments in the context of the debate in the House of Assembly on the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute Bill, which seeks to deliver independence to the technical training school by incorporating it and placing it under the governance of a Board made up of public and private sector-based individuals.
The Government introduced the Bill as one which will enhance the reputation of the institution and cause it to create graduates who are more relevant to today's economy.
Dr Nottage "congratulated" the Government on the Bill, welcoming the fact that it removes political interference from the administration of the institution after 61 years of its existence, but said it must be looked at in the context of the Bahamian educational system as a whole.
The PLP MP said that despite successive governments investing an "extremely large" proportion of the country's national income on education and expanding enrollment over the years, the country's "national patrimony and wealth" is being "squandered as more and more Bahamians pass through a system which does not effectively prepare them for the mastery of their environment in our Bahamas."
He lamented that "quantitative" rather than "qualitative" improvements have been made to the system.
"Having once been the railroad to social mobility and liberation" education in The Bahamas is in need of "urgent review" and a "broad range of innovations," said the MP.
Illustrating his point, Dr Nottage suggested the Bahamas is "fooling itself" when it comes to its levels of educational literacy as many people lack basic knowledge when they leave school.
"We need to look carefully at general and basic literacy. We know the truth tells us we are not as literate as we claim to be, particular at mathematics and elementary understanding of science, which is absolutely necessary for success in today's economy," he said.
Referring to the "poor or unsatisfactory BGCSE results" which have hovered at a D or D- average for some time, he said these "are nothing less than the festering tip of an even greater problem."
"Far too many Bahamians leave school prepared for neither further education or for the workplace. And I say now as I said a decade ago disaster looms - in fact disaster is here...because of our failure to take decisive action."
"It is my deep-seated belief that Bahamian society is in crisis," he continued.
He linked this situation to a "too long" existing tendency to study problems but not act, mentioning in particular the failure to implement the recommendations of a 1992 report on the post secondary education system which he suggested could have helped the country avoid ending up in the position he claims it now finds itself in.
"As we go forward education can play one of two roles. On the one hand it can reflect and enforce and reproduce the existing social order with all of its injustices and failures and its tendency towards chaos or we can place the educational system in the hands of visionaries and social reformers and it can be used as a major weapon for social transformation.
"I'm sure all of us would choose the latter but it does requires us to give up some of the reigns and some of the control, allow those who are best suited to doing so to run these systems."
He said that it is with this need for politicians to step back from the decision-making process as it relates to education that he supported the BTVI Bill, which increases the independence of that institutions as it relates to its curriculum, hiring, student admissions and awards, among other things.
April 22, 2010
tribune242
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