Planning Ministry seeks consultant for national manpower plan

THE Planning and Development Ministry is inviting proposals for a consultancy service for the development of a National Manpower Plan.

The invitation is contained in a a tender notice, dated February 7, issued by the ministry.

Proposal documents are available at the ministry's procurement unit on Level Five of the Eric Williams Financial Complex in Port of Spain, from Monday to Friday, between 8 am and 4 pm.

The proposals must be accompanied by valid income tax and value added tax (VAT) clearance certificates, dated not more than six months before the closing date for the submission of bids.

The proposals must also be accompanied by a valid certificate of compliance issued in accordance with the National Insurance Act.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 1 pm on March 13.

The proposed consultant or their authorised representative may be present when the proposals are opened on that day.

On November 27, 2020, then planning and development minister Camille Robinson-Regis received a US$100,000 grant and technical support from the United Nations Children's (UNICEF) Generation Unlimited Project to develop a ten-year national manpower plan

Robinson-Regis said, "The successful implementation of this project and its recommendations will move TT closer to achieving our collective national vision of a united, resilient, productive, innovative and prosperous nation."

A statement issued by the ministry in November 2020, said the plan was undertaken based on research it had done. This research revealed there is a sense of urgency within the business sector for a manpower plan for TT.

The ministry said, "What the research identified was existence of skills gaps in areas within the local labour market. This has also been confirmed by various surveys such as the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey 2010 and the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development’s Vacancy Survey Report 2012."

The former, the ministry continued, said 30 per cent of firms in TT stated that an inadequately educated workforce was a major constraint to business.

"A National Manpower Plan would therefore serve to tackle these problems across the board within the education and employment systems of TT."

The objectives of the plan include closing the skills gap between labour demand and supply, reform of the education and training system to provide appropriate / certifiable paths for students with varying abilities, establishment of a database or national registry of skilled individuals to be used for identification of certified skilled people and the measurement of the inventory of skills in TT, career guidance to manage the expectation of entrants into the job market and to promote lifelong learning. .