So the World Trade Organisation's ruling on trade and global
competition resulted eventually in Caribbean islands, led by Jamaica, ceasing most
of their shipped export of bananas to Europe in the early 21st Century. And
what followed, in part, was the assigning of a portion of the EU aid budgets to
such Caribbean islands to assist with the expected economic dislocation to
small rural farmers and their communities.
Some dislocation of the banana sector did occur and one of the
projects that was developed to assist mitigating the effects was conceived by Vernon
Barrett (Newer Worlds) on behalf of its client Human Employment And Resource Training
Trust - National Training Agency (HEART-Trust NTA).
However, a few years on, the dislocation was not as negative as could
have occurred and indeed what is now likely to happen (2012 onwards) is that
the demand for bananas locally will grow to perhaps exceed what is was before
exports to the EU from Jamaica ceased!!
Ironic, but not surprising because what happened was that in the private sector the large player there - Jamaica Producers (JP) - aggressively pursued a value-add development of the local banana sector. JP ventured into making bananas chips and other food processed derivatives for both the local and export market. Value-add from bananas and other locally grown crops. Perfectly sensible if you compare what happens in western diets with the simple potato being turned into chips and crisps and other such stuff which then sells at multiples of its original cost. Not sure how healthy it will be for the consumers but that is another matter for another article...
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But back to the Jamaican project - conceived and managed by Newer
Worlds - entitled "Banana Sector Retraining Project" which ran during
2008 and 2009.
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Sector_Retraining_Project
for more details)
HEART-NTA was, and is, a well respected VOCATIONAL institution in
Jamaica established in the 1980's - initially to help train and educate workers
employed in the growing tourism sector. However that was some time ago and it
was interesting, in the conduct of the project, to see how that Institution had
changed over the intervening years to 2008 - some 30 years.
On the positive side the HEART had a Project Division (led by Ms Liz
Terry) which was receptive to doing this, its first EU funded, innovative
project valued at about 330,000 euros. It delivery would expose some of the shortcomings
of the institution but yet provide it with more market intelligence and
identify needs and opportunity in field of vocational education and training.
In the process of the project it serviced a long neglected constituent of the
Jamaican society. Following the outcome of the project HEART appears to have
taken onboard some of the learning points below and addressed some of its
shortcomings.
Some of the key ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE issues are outlined below and
for further information do contact Newer Worlds on info@newerworlds.com.
WHO IS REALLY THE INSTITUTION'S CUSTOMER?
At the time HEART seemed to be struggling with keeping itself focused
on the needs of its primary beneficiaries - the trainees and students at its
facilities. It was more interested it seemed with the EMPLOYERS of such people
and these companies' needs. This was potentially conflicting, particularly when
it came to people who were learning skills so they could be self-employed and
as an Institution they needed to reconcile this post-project. Understandably
because the employers and companies pay the HEART Institution most of its
income (in the form of a Government administered tax) there was this divided
loyalty which needed airing and resolution.
Resolution: HEART needed to carefully assess its role in inadvertently
perpetuating the SOLE mind-set of "becoming an employee" to people
seeking to earn a livelihood. People do have other options - self-employment or
starting a business and CREATING employment. Self-employment is not for
everyone but people should be able to be assessed for such a capacity and be
encouraged to think along those lines as well. Other younger organisations in
Jamaica were also servicing such potential and actual young entrepreneurs, so
collaboration with them by HEART was also required going forward - for joined
up thinking an provision of service nationally.
CAN WE ACCESS THE BENEFICIARY?
Although HEART does have physical facilities in many parts of Jamaica
its reach is still not, unsurprisingly, universal. In fact it is leaning more towards
urban people - those in main (usually capital) towns in Jamaican parishes. So really
rural people who are economically constrained still cannot, for the most part,
afford to get to the venues where classes are held - in these towns. The cost
of the taxi or bus fare alone and the time off earning a living is prohibitive
to them. In the project a stipend was
allocated to beneficiaries to assist with these costs of attending training
sessions.
Resolution: To deliver training in remote locations, HEART and others
could perhaps invest in mobile units that can be used to serve as delivery
platforms to travel to remote rural locations to deliver resource for training
sessions - probably at physical venues such as church halls, 4H locations etc
in collaboration with third parties who owned these assets.
WHICH COMES FIRST - VOCATIONAL TRAINING OR LITERACY?
There was another major constraint (self-)imposed by HEART in its
ability to help people become skilled in a vocation. The prospective trainees
had to attain a Level 9 in basic literacy (Maths and English) and UNTIL and
UNLESS they did so they could not attend training in a vocational skill. This
was so against the primacy of the need for such beneficiaries especially as
they tended to be middle aged or older trying to earn a living.
What was the point - isn't it more important that someone can learn to
do something with their hands and then earn a living than to exclude them from
economic activity because they need to go back to basics....
Resolution: Provide methods of training delivery that are mainly
visual and verbal and rely less on the reading of published material
(audio-visual training followed by on-site witnessed visual & verbal assessment
/ inspection). At least this will fast track training possibilities, in the
short term, to a wider range of needy semi-literate or illiterate
beneficiaries.
WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE GAME ANYWAYS?
Finally the common-place politics of Institution building revealed
itself - when it came to working with other organisations and institutions to
assist beneficiaries. Some unnecessary barriers were being erected that were
detrimental to these beneficiaries.
Institutions in the same country of Jamaica did not respect/acknowledge
each other's beneficiary literacy assessment system at the expense of the
beneficiary. This was SO WRONG.
Also you got the feeling sometimes that some local organisations were
dangerously pre-occupied proceeding down a road to become a conventional type
of UNIVERSITY - primarily for the prestige and egos of its administration - and
not staying focused on the needs of the beneficiary. This happened in the UK
where many POLYTECHNICS in that country thought they should become re-branded
as Universities in the 1980-90's primarily because the association with teaching
VOCATIONS had a stigma of inferiority associated with it.
Let us hope the same doesn't happen in Jamaica or elsewhere in the Caribbean.
We need people who can do things that are valued by their society to profitably
make a livelihood and earn an honest living.
Ignorance is not caused by an absence of literacy
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EPILOGUE
Since this change in banana exports from the Caribbean occurred, the
significant increased frequency of inferior quality bananas on sale in British
supermarket multiples, like Sainsbury's, has been noticeable. Many of the
bananas now on sale look poor quality and are poor quality and get left unsold
in singles - a great waste of food, money and resources in general.
So yes sure, the price of these bananas from Central and South America
are cheaper (than previous Caribbean banana exports) but the quality is poorer
and the customer is worse off in terms of choice.
The only salvation to get a good banana these days in the UK is to get
"FAIRTRADE" ones - which probably cost as much as the previously
exported Caribbean bananas!!
Otherwise go to the Caribbean and taste a REAL BANANA
In the
meantime eat the banana chips on sale at the same multiples - Sainsbury's et
al.
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