Manufacturing should not be seen as a “dead-end sector for the undereducated”, says Barbados Manufacturer’s Association (BMA) executive director Bobbi McKay.
Addressing participants in the Human Resource Management Association of Barbados’ (HRMAB) World of Work Workshop last Tuesday, she said the industry offered jobs from entry level to those requiring PhDs.
“The image which automatically floats into the heads of most Barbadians when they think of a job in manufacturing is of someone working on a machine in a plant, doing something absolutely boring for low wages, maybe, and in less than desirable positions . . .” she said.
Noting that this may have been the case in the past, McKay said the manufacturing sector has come a long way since those days and has a lot to offer.
“Yes, there may still be a few who need to rise to the occasion but as a vibrant industry it is constantly evolving,” McKay said, noting that job opportunities exist in engineering, research, design, development, sales and marketing, and logistics and distribution.
Speaking last Monday during the opening session of the programme at the National Initiative for Service Excellence’s office in the Harbour Industrial Park, she noted that manufacturing today draws on both academic and manual skills.
The executive director noted that some furniture manufacturers have fully computerized production systems while Lenstec has a state-of-the-art facility that produces lenses sold as far abroad as China, Japan, Australia and the Czech Republic.
“Many of their staff start at the entry level stage and they work their way up based on their performance.
“You also have staff with first and second degrees.
“When you walk into their environment you would never believe you’re in Barbados,” she said.
McKay encouraged the young participants to broaden their thinking beyond simply getting a job and to consider getting into the manufacturing sector.
“Perhaps you have an idea and you don’t want to make it yourself. There are third parties who can create that for you,” she said.
She also gave them a number of tips on what employers were looking for in employees, including honesty, initiative and problem-solving ability, flexibility, team spirit and willingness to learn. (NB)
