From data to decent work: a new push for apprenticeships in the Caribbean

PORT OF SPAIN (ILO News) – On 5 March 2026, skills development practitioners, government officials, and social partners from across the Caribbean and Latin America gathered virtually for an enlightening conversation about the future of the region's workforce.

The ILO-hosted webinar, 'Building Evidence-Based Quality Apprenticeship Systems', brought together nearly a dozen experts to explore a single central question: how can Caribbean countries design apprenticeship systems that are driven by real data, responsive to labour markets, and built to last?

The answer, panellists agreed, lies in moving from aspiration to evidence and learning from peers who have already walked the path.

The case for urgent action

The data tell a sobering story. Across CARICOM, informal employment stands at 75 per cent region-wide and 50 per cent even when Haiti is excluded. Labour productivity growth has averaged near zero over two decades, well below global benchmarks. High rates of young people not in education, employment, or training signal a structural failure in the school-to-work transition. There is also a troubling pattern of brain drain: the region's most educated workers are increasingly employed abroad, while high-skilled labour shortages persist at home.

A global standard for Caribbean reform

At the heart of the discussion was the ILO's Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation, 2023 (No. 208) a landmark standard for designing systems that are well-structured, fair, inclusive, and responsive to shifting labour market needs. Ilca Webster, Skills and Lifelong Learning Specialist at the ILO Caribbean Office, and Takaaki Kizu, Technical Officer for Skills Development at ILO Geneva, introduced its seven thematic pillars.

"Recommendation No. 208 gives countries a clear framework - not a prescription. The Caribbean has the flexibility to adapt these principles to its own realities. What matters is that evidence drives the design." – Ilca Webster, Skills and Lifelong Learning Specialist, ILO Caribbean Office.

Countries in action: three stories

In The Bahamas, Michelle Malcolm, Executive Director of the National Apprenticeship Programme, described how the country moved decisively after passing the Apprenticeship Act, 2024, even before the planned institutions (the National Apprenticeship Unit and Sector Skills Councils) were fully established. Early results showed strong employer uptake and solid apprentice retention across priority sectors including construction, hospitality, maritime, and technical trades. Both institutions are now in formation, with pilot experience directly informing policy.

"Do not wait for perfect conditions. We launched, we measured, and the evidence we generated is now shaping the programme going forward." Michelle Malcolm, Executive Director, National Apprenticeship Programme, The Bahamas

From Bermuda, Malika Cartwright, Director of Workforce Development at the Ministry of Economy and Labour, described a formal 'earn-and-learn' model anchored in legislation, trade schemes set by the National Certification and Apprenticeship Board, and industry-aligned Occupation Advisory Committees.

"A quality apprenticeship depends on genuine alignment between government, employers, and the apprentice. Bermuda's system works because all three understand their roles and their responsibilities." Malika Cartwright, Director of Workforce Development, Bermuda

Trinidad and Tobago's contribution came through the lens of generation of labour market intelligence. Sharon Parmanan, Senior Economist at the National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST), presented findings from a study conducted in collaboration with the ILO that assessed STEM and 21st-century skills demand across five emerging sectors: aviation, software development, agro-processing, tourism, and maritime.

"Our data show that only between 10 and 36 per cent of recent graduates are considered well prepared by employers. Apprenticeship systems must be designed around evidence of real labour market demand not assumptions." Sharon Parmanan, Senior Economist, NIHERST, Trinidad and Tobago.

Peer learning and the green transition

Beatriz Schmidt Bonato and Johnny William Monteiro, Policy Analysts from SENAI– Brazil's National Service for Industrial Training– shared their Industrial Labour Map, a forecasting methodology tracking employment and training demand across 17.8 million formal industrial jobs. Beatriz cautioned participants that anticipating future demand is not optional- it is the foundation of any training system that wants to stay relevant.

The “green dimension” was brought into focus by Miriam Preckler, Director of Education, Social and Human Development Management at CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. She shared that 11.4 per cent of all occupational profiles already require significant green skills, spanning renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, green construction, and waste management. Simply put, the transition to a greener economy is not separate from the skills challenge and therefore, apprenticeship systems that ignore the green transition will leave workers and employers behind.

What comes next

ILO Caribbean Office Director Dr Joni Musabayana in his opening remarks framed quality apprenticeships as a response to the structural forces reshaping the region's labour markets: demographic shifts, climate change, migration pressure, and digital transformation.

Quality apprenticeships succeed when evidence, social dialogue and labour market alignment work together. For governments, they improve skills policy and public investment. For workers, they open routes to recognized qualifications and decent work. For employers, they build a stronger skills pipeline. For the Caribbean, they are part of a wider effort to build more inclusive, productive and future-ready labour markets.

The ILO will continue to provide necessary technical support to countries in the region, aligned to the international normative framework. The tools, the evidence, and the guidance are available. What is needed now is the institutional will to use them.