NHC looks to youth to fill construction skills gap

A shortage of skilled construction workers has prompted the National Housing Corporation (NHC) to accelerate efforts to recruit and train young people as housing development expands across Barbados, general manager Ian Gill said Friday.

“Because of the expansion of construction in this country, we’re going to have a shortage of talent, and we’re hoping that these young people can be trained quickly and can gain that knowledge that we can add that additional talent at the National Housing Corporation,” he said as ground broke on a 34-home project at Deanstown, St James.

The NHC has been working with the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to train young people for the construction industry.

“We just took on about 10 of them from TVET, and with that in mind, our aim is to build a strong focus.”

Gill highlighted the Barbados Construction Gateway Initiative as one of the NHC’s strongest programmes, noting that several graduates have gone on to become NHC contractors. 

“That has been one of our greatest programmes at the National Housing Corporation; we’ve had quite a few persons coming over that first gateway programme who became contractors for us. In fact, they’re still contractors for us,” he shared. 

“We sent them to learn that skill, so across this country, especially during Hurricane Elsa, we’ve had quite a few of the persons from the Gateway Initiative working with us. It is an awesome initiative.”

Gill also revealed that the NHC has started upgrading its planning section as it looks to young talent and new technology.

“Digitisation creates a situation where there are so many ways to do these things now, so many ways to provide for planning, to provide for draughtsmen. AI can even do it for you, and you can make those changes.”

He confirmed the government’s intention for the NHC to become the planning agency for the central government and state-owned enterprises.

“That is the wish that this government requires that we can fulfil the task of providing planning for all the infrastructure works, the idea of preparing the infrastructure works for all agencies, government agencies across this country, and that is what we are looking forward to.” (LG)