Saint Lucia govt facilitates Human Capital Resilience Project, with World Bank Group

Saint Lucia: The Government of Saint Lucia and the World Bank Group, in a collaborative effort, have facilitated the Human Capital Resilience Project.

Juliana Daniel-Foster, the project’s technical coordinator, mentioned that there are two components to the improvement of Human Capital Resilience.

“This project, implemented by the Ministry of Equity and the Ministry of Education, aims to strengthen Human Capital Resilience in Saint Lucia. The main thrust behind this is the restructuring of the TVET Council and providing support for persons to get qualified in TVET certification and CVQs. This is component one. Component two aims to strengthen the social protection system, which will also provide support to our human capital by allowing for more effective interventions for reductions in vulnerability. I think this may be the first for Saint Lucia with the two ministries collaborating on one project which the World Bank funds.”

Research on relevant skills in the labour market is integral to the project’s success.

“The Human Capital Resilience Project has led the coordination of the labour market needs survey, which allows us to gauge which professions or which areas of employment would allow persons to acquire a more sustainable income, as well as where are the gaps in the labour market in terms of demand for skilled personnel. If the training institutions are not meeting the qualifications, the employers will not be able to find those persons to hire in Saint Lucia. So a more coordinated effort where we can direct persons into more sustainable services would enable them to become more resilient, experience more economic inclusion and our national economic goals will be met.”

A revision of the National Social Protection Policy is a key component of the Human Capital Resilience Project.