Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
With all the current talk about a so-called counterpart policy, Friday's report that the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) will be holding discussions with University of St. Martin (USM) and other educational institutions should not go unnoticed. Exploring synergies between the local tourism industry and education on the island certainly seems a worthwhile endeavour, as UP fraction member Maurice Lake also noted during yesterday's second round of questions on the 2015 budget in the Central Committee of Parliament.
The complaint that too few jobs become available for inhabitants is nothing new and sparked the initiative to restrict the hiring of foreigners even further than is already the case, by requiring a local counterpart when a permit for such is granted. The intention is apparently to start with a pilot and not apply this regulation across the board, which in itself raises legitimate concerns about possible favouritism.
The real problem is the continued disconnect between the labour market and what the current school system produces in terms of a potential employees. It's obviously in the first place government's task to do something about that, but up to now there is, for example, no viable and frequently updated Website with a comprehensive, reliable listing of current vacancies and available qualified job-seekers.
As the main employers' organisation on the Dutch side, a greater involvement of SHTA in this matter would appear to be a desirable development. After all, the representative of most businesses is in a position to have a good idea of any bottlenecks and options to tackle the evident disparity.
Instead of only criticising, the private sector, this can make a tangible and valuable contribution to fine-tuning the link between study and employment. That, rather than imposing a mandatory counterpart system, is what's more likely to provide a durable solution.
Ultimately, entrepreneurs cannot be expected to incur considerable additional expenses and perhaps even losses on their own because of the public sector's inability to provide an adequately-prepared workforce, especially when that threatens the future of their companies and their personnel. In practice it regards a collective responsibility.
