The CARICOM Heads of Government have approved a Human Resource Development 2030 Strategy and Action Plan. The strategy is intended to form the basis for converged action by Member States in unlocking Caribbean human potential. This disclosure was made by Chairman of the CARICOM Conference of the Heads and Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. Keith Mitchell, at the closing press conference following the 38th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in Grenada. According to Prime Minister Mitchell, the strategy will allow the people of the Region, as they progress from their earliest years to senior adulthood, to reach their full potential in their personal and working lives, contributing to their families, communities, national and regional development.
“At the heart of the strategy is the prioritisation of the construction, by 2030, of a globally competitive innovative and seamlessly integrated education system to drive inclusive sustainable development in our Region. The strategy would support and guide critical transformation in HRD sectors regionally and align them more closely with expectations of the needs and imperatives of the development of the 21st century”, he said.
The Strategy is the outcome of a mandate, from the Twenty-fifth Intersessional Meeting in February 2014 following a presentation by the HRD Cluster of CARICOM Institutions which highlighted the situation in the Region and made some recommendations for such a Strategy. The Strategy was crafted by the Human Resource Development Commission. The Commission included 17 specialists and other stakeholders in Education and Human Resource Development, and its work was supported by the CARICOM Secretariat, as coordinator, and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) as a financial contributor. In developing the strategy, the Commission engaged short-term expertise to collect and analyse data and embarked on an extensive regional consultation spanning the CARICOM Member States and Associate Members. St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of Education, the Hon. Shawn Richards, in his capacity as Chair of the Human Resource Development Commission, presented the strategy to the Heads. In March 2017, the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) approved the Strategy, and outlined 16 key priorities and related outputs. Two principal components of the Strategy are Strategic Direction, which addresses where the Region is headed, and Strategic implementation, which outlines how the direction will be accomplished. The goals of the strategy are to empower the Region's people and contribute to the development of the attributes of the ideal Caribbean Person, establish a globally competitive system comprising three distinct sectors, namely basic education, lifelong learning and tertiary education sectors and eliminate inefficiencies in the planning, management and delivery in HRD Sectors
“The strategy will allow our people as they progress from their earliest years to senior adulthood to reach their full potential in their personal and working lives, contributing to their families, communities and national and regional development”, Prime Minister Mitchell said.
