Over the last couple of weeks, there has been a lot of outrage over Jamaica’s brain drain problem which was too evident to ignore at this point. According to a global think tank, which provides business and economic data for 200 countries, Jamaica ranks 2nd on the human flight and brain drain index.
A stat that puts us above countries such as Haiti, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Palestine, and many other countries that are going through economic turmoil and catastrophic war. Even though the data ranges from 2007 – 2022, it is still disappointing and should be used as a wake-up call to those who are in charge.
Jamaica has been having a brain drain problem for decades, this is nothing new. We are within the western region and under North America’s influence, which has been the most prosperous continent over the last couple of decades but that shouldn’t be used as an excuse that will allow our leaders to evade scrutiny and criticism.
It’s obvious that we have a human capital problem. Often times if you check the statistics, our brightest minds are leaving the country and helping to build other countries’ economies instead of ours.
Everyone should be entitled to make their own decision about their future and we cannot blame others who want to leave when they are faced with harsh economical realities.
Everyone should be able to analyze their situation and see what is the best course to make with the opportunities they have. If they see an opportunity to leave the country and make more money to support their family and eke out a living, that should be celebrated.
It is up to the policymakers and leaders to ensure that incentives are set up in place so that we can at least get an ROI (Return On Investment) from our brightest minds. We are in a country where currently we have university graduates that have to settle for low-paying call center jobs just to make a living.
That idea of just getting a degree is practically not enough to survive in our modern environment. There are not enough specific jobs available locally; Hence, why we have to look for other opportunities elsewhere or swallow our pride and settle for a lower-tier job which is not a viable solution given the current economic realities.
Jamaica is mainly a service-based economy, if our policymakers a touting that we all should learn STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and that will help us to get a job or higher paying job, that is a naïve solution given the fact that the incentives are not there.
We need to go back to the drawing board and take a realistic look at the situation and see how best we can move forward.
We need a complete overhaul within our private sector which is filled with inefficiencies and archaic hiring policies. We also need to find a way to ensure that our pays are competitive on an international level or a regional level for certain jobs. The problems are numerous and the challenges are great but they should not deter us from trying.
