Caribbean nations still seek diaspora for job opportunities in home countries

Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica among the nations to urge diaspora to return home for job opportunities 

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Countries around the Caribbean are still urging their respective diaspora to become more involved in the economic developments of their home countries, promising business and income-earning opportunities await.

One of the latest to issue the call was Guyana, which is promising its diaspora a piece of the lucrative oil and gas industry’s economic pie.

Guyanese Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud said the country needs “these Guyanese that possess skills that are badly needed in Guyana; capital; a lot of experience; and, very importantly, the networking in terms of their connection, in terms of their ability to engage multinational, large companies that have reach in many parts of the world”.

The foreign secretary referenced Guyana’s Local Content Bill, which aims to ensure Guyanese people are fairly employed in the oil and gas industry.

He said, “We don’t only want Guyanese to be the cleaners or to be the handymen or to be the menial labourers in this regard and say, ‘Hey that is local content; these are Guyanese we are employing.’

“We want Guyanese to be in leadership positions as much as we also want them to be owners and operators of services or companies.”

Diaspora wanted to fill jobs back home 

Online talent acquisition services like Caribbean Employment Services Inc. can help connect members of the diaspora with job opportunities, with the added convenience of being a digital service that can be accessed from anywhere.

Guyana is also not alone in calling on their diaspora to be more economically involved, as both Barbados and Jamaica have also issued similar calls in recent times.

Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley late last year told her nation’s diaspora that there are opportunities available for them as she made an impassioned plea for them to “come on home”.

Jamaican Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Audley Shaw likewise encouraged businesses to create opportunities for diaspora to encourage them to return to their home country.

However, Foreign Secretary Persaud specified, “While we talk about the diaspora as an integral part of the local content approach, it’s not to the disadvantage of persons or to take away opportunities.”

Rather, he said, “We see the diaspora augmenting, as enriching and being able to bring additional value in some areas to those persons’ businesses, individuals and their activities here in Guyana so it is more complementary.”

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