Less than 10% of work force complete degree higher than secondary - Report

Less than 10% of work force complete degree higher than secondary – Report

Mar 25, 2018 News

Percentage Share of Working-age Population by Level of Education Completed

A recently published report has found that educational achievement in Guyana appears to have a pyramidal structure.
The Guyana Labour Force Survey (GLFS) done for the third quarter of 2017, revealed that less than 10% of the working age population completed any degree higher than a secondary education.
The total labour population aged 15 and above residing in Guyana was pegged at 550,831 persons, which is considered the working age population. The labour force participation rate for all persons aged 15 and above is 56%.
According to the report, the stats on education have two implications. On one hand it entails a shortage of highly qualified human resources in the labour market while on the other it indirectly confirms the seriousness of the issue of outmigration of tertiary-educated people.
The report noted that the figures may explain the relatively low educational profile and skills portfolio of the economically active population.
“The educational profile of the labour force is interesting. This reflects not only the level of human capital accumulation within the economy, but also allows calculating potential return on the educational investment,” the report cites.
According to the report, the 10% figure appears below regional averages.
While exactly comparable regional estimates are not readily available, the World Bank World Development Indicators presents as 43.3% the gross tertiary enrolment rate in Latin America and the Caribbean excluding high-income countries.
The Latin American Economic Outlook 2017: Youth, Skills and Entrepreneurship, which was prepared by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) presents an average of 14.62 percent of youth aged 25-29 with tertiary education degrees.
The GLFS also includes a module on former household members that are now living abroad (Note: these are only the emigrants who still have ex-household members in Guyana). The elaboration on the weighted data shows that about 10 percent of the migrated population hold at least a short circle tertiary diploma or above and 55 percent hold at least a secondary education degree.
In Guyana’s case, the report found that it does not appear to be significant differences between men and women as, respectively, 11.5 percent and 13.6 percent of the total male and female population aged 15-24 are enrolled in education.
The report which was prepared with financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) noted that the unemployment rate for persons aged 15 and above was 12%, with the situation for women being substantially worse than that of men, 15.3% versus 9.9%. The data show no substantial differences between urban and rural areas.
According to the survey, the employment-to-population ratio of persons aged 15 and above is 49.2 %, with the rate being substantially higher for men than for women 62.1 % against 36.9%. This situation is substantially similar to that outlined by the 2012 Census.
The survey found that the situation of women who, despite showing a sizeable disadvantage in the labour market, appears to be more engaged in the labour force and be less likely to be unemployed.
For salaried workers, the average labour income is $82,636 per month across all the economic sectors, while the figure decreases to $67,064 for self-employed workers.