Dr. Justine C. Pierre, Director of Dunn Pierre Barnett & Company Canada Ltd. has commenced work on two major census thematic assignments for the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines under the OECS Data for Decision Making Project, a regional initiative supported by the World Bank.
The assignments will produce comprehensive thematic reports on:
- Education and Training; and
- Economic Activity and Labour Market Outcomes.
Although the assignments were established under separate consultancy contracts, Dr. Pierre and his company will implement them through an integrated analytical framework. This approach recognises that education, technical and vocational training, qualifications, employment, productivity and national economic development are closely interconnected.
The project will transform detailed census information into practical evidence that can support government planning, education reform, workforce development, youth employment, economic diversification and social inclusion.
- Transforming census data into national intelligence
The initiative represents an important milestone in the development and use of official statistics in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Rather than limiting census dissemination to conventional statistical tables and technical reports, the project will develop a new and broader package of accessible analytical products, including:
- National and parish-level statistical profiles;
- Infographics and visual summaries;
- Geographic and thematic maps;
- Education and labour-market indicators;
- Dashboard-ready datasets;
- Policy briefs and executive summaries;
- Reproducible statistical tables;
- Human-capital and workforce-development indicators;
- Technical documentation and metadata; and
- Evidence-based recommendations for national planning.
These products will help policymakers, educators, employers, training institutions, researchers, communities and members of the public better understand the country’s changing population, education system, workforce and economy.
- Connecting education with employment
A defining feature of the project is its focus on the complete pathway from education and training to employment and economic participation.
2.1 The Education and Training Thematic Report will examine areas such as:
- School attendance and educational participation;
- Literacy and educational attainment;
- Academic, professional and technical qualifications;
- University and post-secondary education;
- Technical and vocational education and training;
- Employment-related training;
- Adult and continuing education;
- Access to education across demographic and geographic groups; and
- Barriers that prevent people from entering or completing education and training.
2.2 The Economic Activity and Labour Market Outcomes Report will analyse:
- Employment and unemployment;
- Labour-force participation and economic inactivity;
- Occupations and industries;
- Public- and private-sector employment;
- Self-employment and entrepreneurship;
- Informal and vulnerable employment;
- Youth participation in the labour market;
- Gender differences in employment outcomes;
- Employment among persons with disabilities;
- Geographic inequalities; and
- Barriers to employment, enterprise development and economic participation.
The combined analysis will help determine whether the education and training system is adequately preparing Vincentians for existing and emerging employment opportunities.
It will also investigate the relationship between qualifications and occupational outcomes, skills supply and employer demand, TVET and employment, youth transitions from school to work, disability and economic inclusion, gender and occupational segregation, and the relationship between human capital and national productivity.
- Using the 2013 and 2023 census evidence
Subject to data availability, agreed analytical requirements and the completion of a comprehensive data-quality assessment, the assignments will draw on anonymised information from the 2013 and 2023 Population and Housing Censuses.
The use of the two census periods will allow the project team to identify significant changes in:
- The size and composition of the working-age population;
- Educational attainment;
- Labour-force participation;
- Employment and unemployment;
- Occupational and industrial structures;
- Geographic access to education and employment;
- Human-capital development; and
- The participation of young people, women, persons with disabilities and other population groups.
All census data will be managed under strict confidentiality, data-security and statistical disclosure-control arrangements. No information capable of identifying individuals or households will be published.
4. International and Caribbean Technical Team
The assignments will be led by Dr. Justine C. Pierre, Labour Statistician, Workforce Development Consultant, and Managing Director and Principal Consultant of Dunn Pierre Barnett & Company Canada Ltd.
Dr. Pierre will provide overall technical leadership and serve as the lead labour-market specialist, statistician, survey methodologist and demographer. He will direct the statistical methodology, coordinate the multidisciplinary team, oversee the integration of the education and labour-market analyses, lead stakeholder engagement, and ensure that all final outputs meet international statistical, technical and professional standards.
The wider technical team will provide specialised advisory support and will include senior Caribbean and international experts in official statistics, economics, education, labour markets, demography, data analysis, GIS mapping, policy research and data visualisation.
Proposed senior advisors include:
- Dr. Iwan Sno, former Director of Statistics of Suriname, who brings extensive experience in official statistics, census analysis, statistical-system development and the management of national statistical programmes;
- Dr. Rosita Woodly-Sobhie, Dean of Graduate Studies at Anton de Kom University of Suriname and a leading economist, statistician and senior academic with expertise in poverty analysis, social protection, migration, disability and socioeconomic policy research; and
- Other economists, labour-market specialists, education researchers, data analysts, GIS professionals, data-visualisation specialists and quality-assurance reviewers.
Specialised support in information systems, data management and data visualisation may also draw upon the international experience of Community Systems Foundation and Dr. Jørgen Billetoft, a retired World Bank consultant with extensive experience in labour-market research, economic analysis and international development.
National personnel and institutions will remain central to the project. The international and regional experts will complement, rather than replace, local expertise and will work closely with the Statistical Office, relevant ministries and other government agencies throughout the assignment.
- More than two reports
“This initiative is not simply about producing two additional technical reports,” Dr. Pierre said.
“It is about transforming the census into a national decision-making instrument. Our goal is to help the Government and people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines understand where the country stands in education, skills development, employment, job creation and human-capital development—and to identify the actions required to move the country forward.”
Dr. Pierre added:
“Census findings must be made accessible. Through statistical profiles, infographics, maps, dashboards and policy-focused analysis, the information can be used not only by technical officers, but also by educators, businesses, young people, communities and ordinary citizens.”
The project will help answer important national questions, including:
- Are young people leaving education with the skills required by the economy?
- Which groups and communities experience the greatest barriers to employment?
- How does educational attainment affect employment and occupational opportunities?
- Where are unemployment and economic inactivity most concentrated?
- Are women and persons with disabilities participating equally in economic life?
- Which industries and occupations have the greatest potential for growth?
- Where are the country’s major education, skills and human-capital gaps?
- Supporting policy and development planning
The findings are expected to support decision-making in:
- Education-sector planning;
- TVET and workforce development;
- Apprenticeship development;
- Youth employment;
- Labour-market policy;
- Gender equality;
- Disability inclusion;
- Social protection;
- Entrepreneurship;
- Private-sector development;
- Economic diversification;
- Parish and community development;
- Digital- and green-economy readiness;
- Skills forecasting;
- Sustainable Development Goal monitoring; and
- Long-term national development planning.
The analytical framework will be aligned, where applicable, with United Nations census principles, International Labour Organization standards, international education, occupation and industry classifications, Sustainable Development Goal indicators and OECS and CARICOM statistical harmonisation priorities.
- Stakeholder consultation and national participation
Dr. Pierre and his firm will work with the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to engage ministries, statutory bodies, educational institutions, TVET providers, employers, business associations, trade unions, youth organisations, women’s organisations, disability organisations, civil-society institutions, researchers and development partners.
Stakeholders will be invited to contribute information concerning skills shortages, education and training challenges, recruitment needs, barriers to employment and entrepreneurship, emerging occupations and industries, geographic inequalities and national human-capital priorities.
The consultation process will be particularly important in explaining the statistical findings. Census data can identify patterns and disparities, while engagement with local institutions and communities can help explain why they exist and what practical policy responses are most likely to succeed.
- Building lasting national capacity
In addition to the final thematic reports, the project will provide technical documentation, metadata, analytical datasets, statistical syntax, replication files, presentations, training and institutional knowledge-transfer activities.
The long-term objective is to strengthen the country’s ability to move from collecting data to using data: and from producing statistics to applying evidence in decisions affecting education, employment, investment, inclusion and national development.
- About DPB Global
Dunn Pierre Barnett & Company Canada Ltd., operating as DPB Global, is a full-service management consulting, research, public-intelligence and technology firm. The company specialises in technical and vocational education and training, competency-based education and training, labour-market research, employment and workforce-development planning, social and employer surveys, labour-market information systems, occupational and skills forecasting, instructional and curriculum design, institutional capacity-building, active labour-market policies, migration research, business and private-sector development, population and housing census analysis, survey methodology, economic and policy analysis, data visualisation, and decision-support systems.
DPB Global has completed hundreds of research and consulting assignments and supported projects in more than 40 countries. The firm also maintains extensive data resources relating to Black, Indigenous and other racialised populations, diaspora communities and countries throughout the Global South. Through research, technology and strategic advisory services, DPB Global works with governments, educational institutions, employers, development organisations and communities to transform data into practical policies, programmes and investments that produce measurable social and economic results.
Website: dpbglobal1.com
