News > President Hodder Urges An Investment in Skilled Human Capital
President Hodder Urges An Investment in Skilled Human Capital The sustainable development of The Bahamas depends on the availability of highly skilled human capital, College President Janyne Hodder told the Association of International Banks and Trust Companies Nassau Conference today. It is one of the primary messages that President Hodder has conveyed about the role of institutions of higher learning and specifically The College of The Bahamas, which is in transition to become a university. "The challenges facing both the financial and tourism services sectors, the realities imposed by new economic partnerships (EPAs) and new agreements on the exchange of tax information (TIEAs), the challenge of global warming and the risks sea level rise pose to the Bahamian environment, the challenge of poverty alleviation and crime reduction – none of these will be successfully addressed without well educated people making smart and thoughtful choices," she said while speaking on "Building a National University to Serve National Development".  "It presumes that we have a large pool of jobs which can be filled by people with few skills but high salary expectations," she pointed out. "This is not the world in which we live; nor is it the one our children will find." According to UNESCO, 28.6 million students were pursuing tertiary education in 1970. That figure skyrocketed to 152.5 million in 2007, translating into an annual increase of 4.6 percent. UNESCO statistics further revealed that the tertiary gross enrolment ratio in Europe and North America - a measure of participation for the population of students for the five years after high school - has grown from 30% in 1970 to 71% in 2007. In Latin America and the Caribbean, this ratio has grown from 6% to 34%, in East Asia and the Pacific, from 7% to 26%. While the study does not report directly on The Bahamas, it is understood that the participation rate for the 18-24 year-old population in The Bahamas hovers around 14%, putting a relatively wealthy nation, only above some of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa (5.6%) and in South and West Asia (11%). President Hodder urged an examination of how The Bahamas is performing against the global trend. "Building a population capable not only of adapting to constantly changing global experiences, but also able to share in the leadership in driving some of that change means appreciating that education today is about learning how to learn," said the College President. "An important part of our job at The College of The Bahamas is to prepare graduates to communicate effectively, to reflect on their lives, to think critically, to be creative, to solve problems and to be engaged and active citizens." This Fall, there are some 5,000 students enrolled at The College, including nearly 600 in Grand Bahama, and a combined first-year class of around 1,300 students, from an application pool of more than 2,000. For the last two consecutive years, graduates of The College have been predominantly baccalaureate degree holders. The College, a member of the International Association of Universities, has over the years developed programmes to meet industry needs and create new and innovative opportunities in the private sector. The institution will also launch a Master of Business Administration programme in Fall 2010 and has already secured private funding of $2 million, half the investment needed for the construction of our new Graduate School of Business. The MBA will be The College's very first graduate degree, although in recent years it has facilitated as many as 7 graduate degree programmes of nternational university and college partners, including Kent State University and Wheelock College. President Hodder asserted that no other investment can do more for the future of The Bahamas than an investment in its people. "When nations choose to invest in higher education, they increase the pool of highly qualified human resources that can fill existing labour market needs," she explained. "Having a pool of highly skilled human resources also creates new job opportunities and new avenues for economic development. Economic development occurs also when talented and educated people develop new businesses and create jobs, expanding the labour market and not simply filling the existing one." The Nassau Conference provides a platform for representatives of the Association of International Banks and Trust Companies to explore current areas of interest and is designed to expose them to a global perspective on relevant matters.
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