The 2019 Budget is a jobs budget. Separate and apart from the hundreds of new posts created for additional teachers, nurses and police officers, among others, this Budget is a catalyst for solid increases in employment across multiple sectors. Creating job opportunities and facilitating the generation of quality employment remain at the heart of our transformative economic agenda.
The latest labour market statistics from the National Insurance Services – which invariably reflect movements in the wider job market – project that the number of active insured employees increased by 1,523 persons from 2017 to 2018. This 4% growth in active insured employees was driven by expansion in the Accommodation, Construction, and Wholesale subsectors. Annual insurable wages also increased by 7.8% to $21,653 – a $1,575 rise in 2018.
Job and wage growth are expected to accelerate in the coming years. Our diverse and unprecedented investments in infrastructure will necessitate a large and sustained hiring boom in the construction sector: The US$100 million geothermal plant construction in North Windward. The US$50 million hotel construction at Mt. Wynne. The US$10 million hotel project at Diamond.
The US$145 million port construction project in Kingstown. The US$34 million in secondary and feeder road construction. The US$5 million in village footpaths.
Cumulatively, these projects far exceed the value of the construction work involved in the Argyle International Airport. When completed, the hotels, port, and geothermal plant will require new, well-trained employees with diverse skill sets.
Private sector investments in the fishing sector, facilitated by the Government, will spur growth in food processing and fishing. The Rainforest Seafoods project alone, promises to directly inject $20 million annually into the hands of local fisherfolk. Other private sector investments that are in advanced stages of development also promise to be large employers of Vincentians.
This include the refurbishment and reopening of the Buccament Bay Resort; the accelerated construction of the Black Sands Resort at Peter’s Hope; the expanded operations and build-out of the Glossy Bay Marina in Canouan; and the opening of the Clear Harbor call centre in Kingstown.
Similarly, the new medicinal cannabis industry promises to generate employment throughout the cultivation and processing value chains.
The completion of physical works in the Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (CARCIP) project – discussed elsewhere in this Budget Speech – will lay the basis for cheaper, faster, more reliable broadband Internet services throughout Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which will contribute in myriad ways to attracting new employment opportunities.
The CARCIP project also provides training and funding for entrepreneurs that utilise technology in their business models.
CARCIP also provides for ICT training that has reached hundreds of Vincentians. Additionally, various training and employment placement programmes facilitated by the Zero Hunger Trust Fund, as well as longstanding state-run internships, like the Support for Training and Education (SET) programme and the Youth Empowerment Service (YES) programme, continue to provide valuable experience for those just entering the job market.
