By FAY SIMMONS
TRIBUNE Business Reporter
jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
MORE than one-quarter of The Bahamas' workforce has no formal qualifications, highlighting a skills gap the Government is seeking to address as it pushes to move workers beyond entry level employment and into higher-quality jobs.
Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of labour and National Insurance, told Parliament last week that 27 per cent of the labour force has no formal qualifications, with that proportion rising to 34 per cent among men, as she outlined the need for greater investment in training, upskilling and apprenticeships.
She said the challenge extends beyond getting Bahamians into employment, with the Government seeking to ensure workers have the qualifications and skills needed to advance their careers.
“Getting a job is just the start. Our task is to empower people to build careers through training and upskilling and apprenticeships and certifications,” said Mrs Glover-Rolle.
The comments came as the latest Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) labour force survey showed that under-employment increased by 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, rising by 2,890 to 29,085 people.
Under-employment includes people who already have jobs but whose work does not provide their desired level of compensation or working hours, or make sufficient use of their skills and experience.
Mrs Glover-Rolle said the Government was responding through several programmes designed to help Bahamians gain qualifications and access better employment opportunities.
These include Upskill and DigiLearn, which allow participants to develop skills remotely, and the National Apprenticeship Programme, which enables young Bahamians to earn while training for new careers.
Mrs Glover-Rolle also highlighted the Public Service Professional Engagement Programme, which provides a year of employment in the public service and the opportunity to become a permanent worker. The programme includes a 10 per cent placement quota for people with disabilities.
She said the Government is also preparing young people for emerging occupations, following a recent visit to the WorldSkills Conference in Shanghai with representatives from the National Training Agency and the National Apprenticeship Programme.
The Bahamas is seeking associate membership of WorldSkills, she said, which will allow young Bahamians to participate in international skills competitions. She also pointed to the recently-launched Young Innovators Club as a potential pathway towards that participation.
The labour force survey also recorded a 19.2 per cent decline in discouraged workers, falling by 505 to 2,135. These are people who are available for work but have stopped actively looking because they believe they are unlikely to find jobs.
Mrs Glover-Rolle said the decline suggested more people who had given up searching for work were returning to the labour market.
“Discouraged workers fell by 19.2 per cent. These are people who wanted a job but had stopped looking. They no longer believed a job was out there for them,” she said.
Mrs Glover-Rolle added that employment gains were being recorded across several industries, including hotels and restaurants, quarrying, electricity, gas and water, and wholesale and retail.
BNSI's figures showed that hotel and restaurant employment increased by 2,020 to 43,765 in the first quarter, while employment in mining, quarrying, electricity, gas and water rose by 1,365 to 5,130.
The survey also showed that the national unemployment rate fell to 8.1 per cent from 8.7 per cent in the previous quarter, with the number of unemployed people declining by 1,225 to 20,240.
Youth unemployment also fell from 18.2 per cent to 14.2 per cent during the quarter.
While welcoming the improvements, Mrs Glover-Rolle said the Government remained focused on ensuring that workers could progress beyond securing their first job.
“We want Bahamian youth to be competitive for jobs at home and around the world today and in the future, and we want the skills they build now to become the foundation for life-long careers,” she said.