Labour shortage ‘challenges’ construction boom

M inister of Technological and Vocational Training Sandra Husbands has warned that Barbados does not have enough skilled workers to meet demand amid a construction boom. As the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council’s launched Barbados Annual Construction and Design Conference (BACDC), Husbands said the shortage was being felt across the industry as a surge in hotel developments, road works, renewable energy projects, commercial buildings and public infrastructure projects continues. She told reporters: “When you look around our country, what is it you’re seeing? We are seeing hotels being refurbished and expanded. We are seeing new hotels being built. And then there’s some that are still to come.

” Husbands pointed to the scale of the current construction activity, including the $800m Beaches Barbados, Sandals Heywoods development, as well as other hotel and residential projects. She said the investment was creating opportunities beyond construction, with jobs also expected in hospitality and businesses supplying the projects. But that growth had also exposed a shortage of labour, leaving householders struggling to find tradespeople for smaller jobs, she added. “The people who may be experiencing the most pain will be householders who are struggling to find a carpenter to do something in their home or a mason to come and do some repairs because we simply do not have sufficient labour to be able to meet the demand in Barbados. ” Husbands described the situation as “a good problem to have”, but said it was one the Ministry of Technological and Vocational Training had been tasked with addressing by increasing opportunities for Barbadians to enter construction and hospitality. According to Husbands, the shortage is partly a consequence of years of…