Imani Duncan-Price | Empowering Jamaica’s future

My last article, ‘Upskilling the workforce: a catalyst for Jamaica’s productivity revolution’, argued that Jamaica’s path to sustainable economic growth hinges on empowering its workforce with modern skills. While diagnosing the problem – low productivity due to skills gaps – is straightforward, the real challenge lies in designing actionable solutions.

Jamaica’s literacy rate and numeracy levels, while improving, still lag behind global benchmarks, and sector-specific barriers in agribusiness, financial services, and export-driven manufacturing compound the complexity. Coupled with the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Future of Jobs Report 2025 projections – which emphasise automation, AI, and green technologies as critical drivers of future economies – Jamaica must craft a pragmatic, context-sensitive roadmap to bridge the gap between intention and implementation.

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGE

Jamaica’s constraints are multifaceted. While the published figure of a 62 per cent literacy rate suggests some foundation for learning, many believe the figure to be too high, especially when the Report of the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission (JETC) chaired by Professor Orlando Patterson stated that most students at the primary level were barely literate. In addition, a numeracy rate of 50 per cent limits technical upskilling.

Sector-specific hurdles include climate vulnerabilities in agriculture, digital infrastructure gaps in financial services, and energy costs and global competition in manufacturing. The WEF report predicts that 44 per cent of workers’ skills will be disrupted by 2027 globally, with AI and big data roles growing by 30-35 per cent. For Jamaica, aligning local strategies with global trends while addressing unique challenges is critical.

Here, global models like India’s Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) offer practical inspiration. SEWA, a 3.2 million member trade union, has empowered informal workers – particularly women – through a blend of skills training, technology adoption, and cooperative enterprise development. SEWA’s success lies in combining grassroots mobilisation with scalable digital tools, demonstrating how low-literacy communities can leapfrog into the digital economy. With a membership larger than Jamaica’s total working population, SEWA shows us that our national challenge is surmountable. Jamaica can adapt similar principles to its context.

THREE-PILLAR ROADMAP FOR UPSKILLING

1. Foundational skills first: building blocks for advanced training

Before sector-specific interventions, Jamaica must strengthen foundational literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy.

• Adult education revamp: Expand programems like HEART Trust/NSTA to integrate basic digital skills, using mobile learning platforms in local dialects. SEWA’s approach – training women via mobile videos and community radio in regional languages – shows how localised content drives engagement.

• Youth engagement: Partner with NGOs to gamify STEM education, using apps like Duolingo Math to improve numeracy. SEWA’s digital literacy camps for adolescents, which combine storytelling with tablet-based learning, could be replicated in Jamaican schools.

• Infrastructure: Accelerate the National Broadband Initiative to ensure rural areas have affordable internet access. SEWA’s collaboration with India’s government to install wifi in village centres highlights the importance of public-private partnerships.

2. Sector-specific upskilling: agribusiness, finance, and manufacturing

Agribusiness: Precision farming for resilience

Jamaica’s agriculture sector contributes 7 per cent to GDP but faces climate risks and inefficiencies.

• Training: Launch mobile-based “Farmer Field Schools” via WhatsApp and radio to teach IoT tools (e.g., soil sensors) and AI weather apps. SEWA’s Krishi Sakhis (agriculture facilitators) model – where women farmers train peers in climate-smart techniques – could be adapted.

• Technology adoption: Subsidise AI tools like crop yield predictors and drone mapping for small farmers. Costa Rica’s use of blockchain for fair-trade coffee as well as SEWA’s use of blockchain for fair-trade handicrafts are models for agri-traceability.

• Cooperatives: Strengthen farmer cooperatives to pool resources for technology access, mirroring SEWA’s dairy cooperatives, which use shared AI tools for herd management.

Financial services: accelerating the digital transition

The finance sector contributes 11 per cent to GDP but faces cybersecurity and fintech adoption challenges.

• Reskilling programmes: Collaborate with universities and fintech firms to offer certifications in blockchain and AI fraud detection. SEWA’s “Digital Sakhis” initiative – training women to become village-level digital finance mentors – shows how peer-to-peer learning boosts adoption.

• Financial inclusion: SEWA members, such as street vendors and home-based workers, adopted Paytm’s QR code systems to transition from cash to digital transactions. This provided formal transaction records, enabling creditworthiness assessments. Transaction histories from Paytm were then leveraged to offer microloans and insurance products to women excluded from traditional banking.

• Regulatory sandboxes: SEWA’s collaboration with India’s central bank on micro-pension fintech pilots underscores the value of regulatory flexibility.

Export-driven manufacturing: automation and global standards

Manufacturing contributes 8 per cent to GDP but struggles with energy costs and competition.

• Vocational training: Local companies can establish apprenticeships to teach robotics, CNC machine operation and other process automation. Germany’s dual education system offers a blueprint. SEWA’s “Skill Schools” for garment workers – combining sewing skills with e-commerce training – show how informal sectors can formalize sustainably.

• AI integration: Pilot AI-driven supply chain optimisation tools (e.g., inventory management algorithms) in Special Economic Zones, supported by grants from the Development Bank of Jamaica. SEWA’s collaboration with Flipkart (India based e-commerce company acquired by Walmart) to train artisans in algorithmic pricing illustrates how SMEs can harness AI for global markets.

• Energy efficiency: Embed smart meters and IoT sensors in machinery to monitor real-time energy consumption. AI algorithms can identify inefficiencies (e.g., overheating motors) and automate adjustments. Form industry clusters to collectively invest in shared renewable energy plants (e.g., solar farms), reducing per-unit costs. SEWA’s cooperative model in India shows how pooled resources enhance bargaining power.

3. Enablers: policy, partnerships, and measurement

• Policy incentives: Offer tax breaks for companies investing in AI and worker training. Chile’s “Capacita Chile” programme, which co-funds upskilling, is a relevant model.

• Public-private partnerships: Create sector skills councils (e.g., Agribusiness Skills Council) involving large corporates like Pan Jamaica Group, GraceKennedy and Seprod to design curricula. SEWA’s alliance with Microsoft to train 100,000 women in cloud computing highlights cross-sector synergy.

• Metrics for success: Track productivity growth (e.g., yield per acre in agriculture), AI adoption, and export diversification. SEWA’s annual Digital Inclusion Index, measuring women’s access to tech, offers a model for community-level accountability.

FROM ROADMAP TO REALITY

The WEF’s Future of Jobs Report is a wake-up call to act decisively. By prioritizing foundational skills, tailoring solutions to sector needs, and fostering collaboration, Jamaica can transform its workforce into a catalyst for a productivity revolution. SEWA’s journey – from a small collective to a tech-savvy powerhouse – proves that even resource-constrained communities can thrive by marrying tradition with innovation.

The path will require patience: pilots may fail, and resistance to change is inevitable. However, by empowering workers through inclusive upskilling and technology, Jamaica can build a future where innovation and inclusion drive prosperity for all. Let us move beyond rhetoric and create a nation where every citizen is equipped to harness the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Imani Duncan-Price is a strategy and implementation consultant, World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and former Senator. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and imaniduncan@gmail.com