Leading Labour Market Research and Management Consulting firm, Dunn Pierre Barnett & Company Canada Ltd (DPBA), wins another consultancy contract to conduct a labour market study in the Caribbean. DPBA, a Black-owned firm with Caribbean roots, has been awarded a contract by the Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training of the Government of St. Lucia under its Human Resource Capital Resilience Project.
Project Details
This six-month consultancy aims to assess the St. Lucia labour market to obtain data that can be used to increase the relevance of its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) offerings.
According to Dr. Rufina Frederick-Felicien, the Project Manager for the Human Resource Capital Resilience Project for St. Lucia, “This would be achieved by gaining a better understanding of the labour market at the local level. In addition, the project will collect accurate labour market information which will be used by SME’s, and the wider business community, and government. The data gathered will be of the utmost importance for planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating policies and interventions to address these challenges while promoting decent, adequate, and productive employment based on our society’s profile”.
For the Saint Lucia project, Dunn, Pierre and Barnett has been mandated to collect and analyze data that would address such national issues as inadequate employment generation, unemployment, underemployment, and skills mismatches and gender imbalance in skills training.
The Company embraces the strategic importance of this labour market assessment to the Government of St. Lucia. It commits to delivering a more scientific approach in determining the skills needed by employers. Its research findings will also guide the development of the workforce with the skills necessary to remain relevant, secure job opportunities and ultimately bolster the productive sectors of the economy.
Company Background
Dr. Cleophas Justine Pierre
Dunn, Pierre and Barnett & Company Canada Ltd. is a management consulting and technology firm specializing in data collection, analysis and dissemination with a focus on diverse populations globally. The Black-owned firm has its roots strongly anchored in the Caribbean, and prides itself on its extensive track record conducting notable studies in over 40 countries. The firm specialises in conducting Labour Market Needs Assessment, Technical Skills Audit, and studies in migration and human trafficking. It is also a growing powerhouse in Canada and the Caribbean Region.
The project team for the Saint Lucia assignment is headed by Dr. Cleophas Justine Pierre (Grenadian/Canadian), Labour Market Consultant. Other project experts include Dr Philomena Harrison, notable Statistician and Economist, and former head of Statistics for CARICOM; and Dr. Paulette Dunn Pierre, leading Regional TVET Expert.
Dr. Pierre, a former student of the Grenada Boys’ Secondary School, reiterates the importance of such studies as pivotal to the development of sustainable economies and the transformation of lives. He counsels that “Labour Market Need Assessments are the foundation surveys for planning and developing a country’’.
Dr Philomena Harrison
He also highlights the particular importance to Small Island Developing States, such as his home country Grenada and others in the OECS, in conducting routine labour studies to better align their current and projected labour force and skills capacity to their development priorities. The findings from such studies guide workforce development and can also improve the management of work permit programmes and labour migration schemes for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders.
DPBA is currently conducting a labour market assessment in Guyana. The study is part of the wider “National Skills Audit Consultancy on Guyana Strengthening Human Capital Through Education Project’’, and seeks to understand the country’s skills landscape, enhance its workforce capabilities, and prepare for investments in education and TVET.
Dr. Pierre makes a clarion call for regional countries to adopt an approach similar to St. Lucia and Guyana and anchor the development of their workforce in strong, credible data.
