14
SIDS, the expansion of the education system in
these countries can hinder growth and development in other social, economic and political
development sectors (Olaniyan and Okemakinde
2008). These resource allocation pressures can
create problems for the governments of SIDS
who would have to assess their spending and
investment patterns about the resources that are
available to support the education and training of
their youth.
Education and Skills Training
for Climate Change Adaptation
Climate Change will bring about serious changes
to existing enterprises and economic sectors
across the globe, therefore, building the adaptive
capacity of youth to the impact of climate change
would be essential to protect enterprises, workplaces and communities from the negative impact
of climate change (ILO 2013; Nurse et al. 2014;
Poschen 2015; UNDP 2015). The adaptive
actions that would be feasible for youth would
range from training, capacity building, institutional building and social assistance to infrastructure or reforestation (Poschen 2015).
Carter (2008) identified a mismatch between
the skills and knowledge that are provided by
education and training in SIDS and those that are
required by the market/workplace. The mismatch
in education is also highlighted in a study by the
World Bank on ‘Quality Education counts for
skills and growth’ which states that despite
spending nearly 11 years in education, school
leavers within the SIDS often struggle to find formal employment (World Bank 2013). The UNDP
(2015) states that the challenge in the skills mismatch in the knowledge economy is due to the
slow pace of technological innovation taking
place in developing countries, compounded by
the rapid growth in demand for new and higher
skills which are not forthcoming in most developing countries. The reports also highlighted the
role that technological innovation plays in taking
over work that was previously done by humans
and argued that countries can no longer look to
manufacturing to absorb their army of unemployed youth since computers and robots now do
this work.
Overall, the situation can be worsened by the
impact of climate change on SIDS, specifically
on youth and their respective communities.
Therefore, the case for education and training
provided by SIDS do not equip young people to
meet the current development needs of the region,
nor prepare them to meet future needs. The key to
fill this gap is to ensure strong interaction between
the world of work and the world of education and
training. Youth need to acquire adequate skills
and knowledge that would equip them to participate in initiatives relating to the greening of the
economy and enhancing their resilience against
climate change.
An essential element of the overall education
policy is ensuring that all youth can access education and training in SIDS to transit to new types
of jobs or work with new materials, processes,
and technologies in their existing jobs (Poschen
2015). Effective education and training cannot be
achieved through the implementation of one-ofa-kind or one-off training activity. Therefore, a
continuous process of education and training is
essential to fulfil the above goal (UNDP 2015). It
is no longer effective to train youth workers to
meet the current needs, but to develop skills and
knowledge that support entrepreneurship, resilience, innovation in enterprise development and
their transition to sustainable practices (ILO
2013; Poshen 2015). Government and training
providers must ensure access to training programmes that support lifelong skills development
and focus on future market needs (ILO 2010;
Poshen 2015).
Most SIDS lack the country-specific industrial
structure and are not at the appropriate stage of
development to support the transition of skills
and professional development. As highlighted
earlier, there is an existing mismatch in the education system in most Caribbean SIDS between
current education and training provided and the
skills required in the job market (Carter 2008;
UNEP 2013; World Bank 2013). This is a period
when digital technologies and advanced communication technologies penetrate all areas of life;
however, many youths in SIDS do not have train2 Interrogation of the Literature on the Impact of Climate Change on Youth in SIDS,…
SIDS, the expansion of the education system in
these countries can hinder growth and development in other social, economic and political
development sectors (Olaniyan and Okemakinde
2008). These resource allocation pressures can
create problems for the governments of SIDS
who would have to assess their spending and
investment patterns about the resources that are
available to support the education and training of
their youth.
Education and Skills Training
for Climate Change Adaptation
Climate Change will bring about serious changes
to existing enterprises and economic sectors
across the globe, therefore, building the adaptive
capacity of youth to the impact of climate change
would be essential to protect enterprises, workplaces and communities from the negative impact
of climate change (ILO 2013; Nurse et al. 2014;
Poschen 2015; UNDP 2015). The adaptive
actions that would be feasible for youth would
range from training, capacity building, institutional building and social assistance to infrastructure or reforestation (Poschen 2015).
Carter (2008) identified a mismatch between
the skills and knowledge that are provided by
education and training in SIDS and those that are
required by the market/workplace. The mismatch
in education is also highlighted in a study by the
World Bank on ‘Quality Education counts for
skills and growth’ which states that despite
spending nearly 11 years in education, school
leavers within the SIDS often struggle to find formal employment (World Bank 2013). The UNDP
(2015) states that the challenge in the skills mismatch in the knowledge economy is due to the
slow pace of technological innovation taking
place in developing countries, compounded by
the rapid growth in demand for new and higher
skills which are not forthcoming in most developing countries. The reports also highlighted the
role that technological innovation plays in taking
over work that was previously done by humans
and argued that countries can no longer look to
manufacturing to absorb their army of unemployed youth since computers and robots now do
this work.
Overall, the situation can be worsened by the
impact of climate change on SIDS, specifically
on youth and their respective communities.
Therefore, the case for education and training
provided by SIDS do not equip young people to
meet the current development needs of the region,
nor prepare them to meet future needs. The key to
fill this gap is to ensure strong interaction between
the world of work and the world of education and
training. Youth need to acquire adequate skills
and knowledge that would equip them to participate in initiatives relating to the greening of the
economy and enhancing their resilience against
climate change.
An essential element of the overall education
policy is ensuring that all youth can access education and training in SIDS to transit to new types
of jobs or work with new materials, processes,
and technologies in their existing jobs (Poschen
2015). Effective education and training cannot be
achieved through the implementation of one-ofa-kind or one-off training activity. Therefore, a
continuous process of education and training is
essential to fulfil the above goal (UNDP 2015). It
is no longer effective to train youth workers to
meet the current needs, but to develop skills and
knowledge that support entrepreneurship, resilience, innovation in enterprise development and
their transition to sustainable practices (ILO
2013; Poshen 2015). Government and training
providers must ensure access to training programmes that support lifelong skills development
and focus on future market needs (ILO 2010;
Poshen 2015).
Most SIDS lack the country-specific industrial
structure and are not at the appropriate stage of
development to support the transition of skills
and professional development. As highlighted
earlier, there is an existing mismatch in the education system in most Caribbean SIDS between
current education and training provided and the
skills required in the job market (Carter 2008;
UNEP 2013; World Bank 2013). This is a period
when digital technologies and advanced communication technologies penetrate all areas of life;
however, many youths in SIDS do not have train2 Interrogation of the Literature on the Impact of Climate Change on Youth in SIDS,…