This book reviews current education and skills training options in the Eastern Caribbean and asks whether the prevailing education policies adequately prepare youth for the global economy. It provides in-depth analysis and relevant international cutting-edge practices to guide policymakers, educators and private sector leaders in fostering a creative, productive and well-paid workforce. Specifically, it makes the case for why the OECS education and training systems need to be more responsive to changing labor market demands in the region, and discusses how this could be achieved, taking into c.
Muthuveeran Ramasamy shows that the formal way of vocational education and training (VET) in rural areas often ignores the illiterate, the less educated, and the poor. The author demonstrates that VET programs need to be demand-driven and consider the socio-economic aspects of particular regions. Therefore, the significance of the study at grassroots level helps customize VET programs to respond to the demand of the individuals’ vocational training needs of rural people by keeping their endogenous needs at the centre of vocational skill development processes. The findings and lessons learnt from action research are also intensively discussed as guiding principles of demand-driven approaches from the learners’/societal perspectives.
The health workforce must be able to cope with shifts in the pattern of causes of death and disease that are being seen worldwide—particularly with the rise in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This requires health personnel to have a set of skills and competencies that can adapt to meet the population’s growing and changing health needs. This report examines the status of the nurse workforce in the Eastern Caribbean, assessing how best to strengthen its capacity to respond to the growing burden of NCDs. The report is based on four Eastern Caribbean case studies conducted in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The case studies showed that, although overall nurse staffing levels seem to be sufficient across the four countries in terms of numbers, there are nurse shortages at hospitals and health clinics, as well as in the availability of specialists. Better management of the nurse workforce is needed to ensure adequate coverage at the hospitals and clinics is maintained. In terms of specialists, while the quality of education is generally reported to be good, there are barriers to accessing specialized training which include the high-cost of seeking specialized training due to non-existing or very limited local options and the lack of built-in incentives for completing additional education. To help address the capacity constraints faced by the nurse workforce in the Eastern Caribbean to respond to NCDs, the report generated knowledge in support of two critical areas: (i) provide an understanding of the educational and training opportunities available to nurses to strengthen their capacity to meet the NCD challenges, and (ii) assess whether there is a supportive policy environment in place for nurses to play a role in addressing NCDs. As part of the study, a toolkit was developed, which can be used to strengthen the capacity for HRH planning and management with respect to NCDs.
Investment in Latin America is continuously developing in complex patterns due to the regions increasing role in the global economy. The Handbook of Research on Economic Growth and Technological Change in Latin America helps readers to better understand the importance of Latin America in todays global economy. The book discusses the developments of investments involving Latin American Multinational Corporations (Multilatinas) within the region. This investment is having profound influences on the state of business, government, and technological development in Latin America, which are all explored in this reference publication for use by researchers, scholar-practitioners, business executives, students, and academicians.
The conventional literature on public administration is dominated by the patterns and concerns of large countries. It does not address the needs of small countries, which have very different organisational and managerial frameworks. For example, what degree of specialisation is possible in a ministry which has only a small group of professional staff? And what are the implications for management of highly personalised societies in which everybody seems to know everybody else?This book presents 14 studies written by people who are actually grappling with the issues about which they write. The book thus has both authenticity and practical value.The book is an amplification of a companion work, and will be of value to academics as well as to administrators and trainers. The companion book is also available from the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is entitled Making Small Practical: The Organisation and Management of Ministries of Education in Small States.
Reference to U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) documents related to food, nutrition, or agriculture, and released in various years as stated. Intended for in-depth research or general browsing. Arranged according to accession numbers. Each entry gives such information as title, author, agencies concerned, GAO contact, Congressional relevance, and lengthy abstract. Subject, agency/organization, and Congressional indexes.
