Turning crisis into classrooms

AS Jamaica grapples with a shortage of skilled construction workers, Wayne Spence, leader of a delegation from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) visiting the island, says reconstruction efforts should be used to train young people in trades that are already in high demand, creating a pipeline of workers while helping to rebuild the country.

Spence made the proposal during a Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) press forum on disaster risk management and recovery in education, at which participants examined the challenges facing the sector in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa and discussed how schools can become more resilient to future disasters.

His comments come at a time when concerns are mounting over Jamaica’s shortage of skilled labour. Government Senator Kavan Gayle recently warned that the country is facing an acute deficit of carpenters, masons, steel workers, electricians, plumbers, and finishers, with the shortage contributing to delays and staffing challenges across the construction sector.

Rather than viewing the shortage solely as an obstacle to rebuilding, Spence, who is also president of the New York State Public Employees Federation — a union representing approximately 60,000 professional, scientific and technical workers — argued that it presents an opportunity to equip young Jamaicans with practical skills while helping communities recover.

“So I can tell you that I’ve spoken to unions which have Jamaican and other Caribbean Diaspora [members] in New York, and they’re saying that they are willing to come down and actually run some programmes. They said if kids aren’t going to school because they can’t, because schools are not up, why can’t we now start training them to start rebuilding themselves? And that training will actually lead to jobs. That’s some of the things we would like to do,” he said.

He added that such programmes could help address both the immediate demand for workers and the longer-term challenge of preparing young people for careers in sectors in which jobs are expected to remain in demand.

Pointing to changes he has observed in Jamaica’s construction industry over the years, Spence noted that many of the skills now required can be taught to young people relatively quickly.

“Yes, we can come down and teach these skills. I noticed that when I left Jamaica as a kid we weren’t using Sheetrock, it was all concrete. I come here now and I’m watching the building being done [and] we are now using Sheetrock. So we know that there are skills that can be done for a 16-year-old, a 14-year-old, because if they can’t go to school because the infrastructure is not there, why not give them the task, and work with somebody to help rebuild the schools, and then move on?” he suggested.

Spence further explained that the approach could also help Jamaica prepare for a rapidly changing labour market increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

“With AI and stuff, there’s a lot of jobs that’s not going to be there, but what they haven’t done yet — China is getting close to it — but for now robotics is not really doing certain things. And trade will be that thing that cannot be replaced by AI, and that will be, I think, the fundamental for where people can actually make money — the trade and the nurturing jobs, which is what we do so well as educators,” he said.

The comments formed part of a wider discussion on disaster recovery and resilience in education, with participants examining how Jamaica can rebuild schools more quickly while ensuring students do not fall behind when disasters disrupt normal classes.

Spence’s proposal also drew on lessons learned from disasters in the United States, where communities have had to navigate the difficult period between the immediate emergency response and the much longer process of recovery.