Friday, December 05, 2008Competing Globally at Home

Ayana Hull-BrathwaitePreparing to compete in the Globalized Market

Over the past 15 years, due to a series of legislative enactments, positive policy decisions, and investment by BVIslanders and foreigners alike, the British Virgin Islands has transformed itself from a budding Caribbean economy with an annual Territorial budget of $97 million in 1993, to a financial services powerhouse with a budget of $284 million, approximately 55 percent of which is derived from financial services. This epic transformation has made the BVI attractive to transnational corporations as well as professional persons from around the world. It has also created a stable economy in which entrepreneurs and investors have become comfortable taking risks in their business ventures, resulting in the creation of jobs and opportunities in every facet of the economy.

But the Territory has a limited native population, and the rapid growth has led to a dramatic spike in immigration. In fact, the issue of immigration in itself has become a major challenge for BVIslanders, particularly in the area of the Offshore Financial Services Industry and to some extent the middle to upper management areas of the hospitality industry.

With more than 800,000 business companies incorporated to date, the BVI is known as the incorporation Mecca of the offshore world. At present, the BVI has in excess of 100 trust companies licenced as registered agents, including international giants such as Equity Trust, TMF and Trident Trust; more than 20 law firms, including magic circle offshore leaders such as Maples, Conyers, Harneys, and Walkers; and more than 40 fund administrators. There are also many licensed insolvency practitioners and accounting firms including blue chip firms such as KPMG and Deloitte which also act as service providers to these BVI-domiciled companies. Of the service providers spread across the various sectors of the industry, the law firms in particular have been competitively staking their claim in the BVI financial services market with many of the leading offshore firms opening offices in the BVI within the last five years. The BVI’s tourism sector exists in a similarly global marketplace, a fact evidenced by the interest of premier resort brands, such as Raffles, which are defined by the outstanding level of five-star service and products. Underlying the BVI’s remarkable success in both financial services and tourism is this basic fact: the BVI is now competing with the world, and so too, then, are its people. The question is, can BVIslanders rise to the challenges of this globalized market?

Governments past and present have resolutely stated that education is the key to the success of the Territory. The need to focus on the education of BVIslanders has become paramount for the Government if citizens were to keep pace with the growing rate of the economy. Measures were therefore initially put in place to provide scholarships to BVIslanders undertaking studies in various disciplines in universities overseas. Loans were also facilitated for students through the Development Bank of the Virgin Islands on “student-friendly” terms and rates. This effort to educate BVIslanders continued with the mammoth investment made in 1990 and onwards in the Hamilton Lavity Stoutt Community College, which was named for the first Chief Minister of the BVI who contributed significantly to the establishment of the institution and who subscribed unfailingly to the adage that “Where there is no vision, the people will perish.” In 2007, continuing what seemed to be a preoccupation with the education campaign, under the then Chief Minister, Dr. D. Orlando Smith, HLSCC was made accessible to BVIslanders on a tuition free basis as further incentive to attain higher education and participate in the development of the Territory. Government statistics indicate that all these efforts have borne fruit, as BVIslanders have pursued tertiary education in multitudes. In fact, Government statistics indicate that the number of students studying abroad on BVI scholarships increased significantly from only 69 in 1993 to 260 in 2007. As a further example, in the scholarship year 1993, only two BVIslanders were abroad studying law on BVI scholarships. In 2007, that number was 26. In 1993, there were four BVIslanders abroad studying accounting on BVI scholarships. In 2008 there were 16 (These numbers only reflect the students studying on BVI Government scholarships and the actual numbers per discipline may well be higher).

It is instructive to make clear at this juncture that the challenge BVIslanders face in a globalised market is not one of natural ability. The BVI Diaspora is as naturally capable as any other and BVIslanders equally possess the required intelligence to compete in a global market. It is equally clear that the pursuit of education is no longer a challenge for BVIslanders. Young, middle age and elderly alike have risen to the challenge of the relentless pursuit of education. One only needs to focus on the HSLCC graduation list and one would realise that all walks of life are taking advantage of the local educational opportunities available. Indeed, parents are graduating with their children. The present reality is that it is a challenge to find young people to work in the private sector because they are all at HLSCC pursuing higher education. Certainly everyone would agree that this is a good challenge to have. Firms such as Maples and Calder, where I work, are now happy to work around the college schedules of new school leavers in order to recruit the “cream of the school-leaving crop” to available entry level positions.

If this is not convincing enough, then one can have a look at the Training Division of the BVI Government study leave list and one would conclude that the list has not only increased significantly in numbers but includes persons from a diverse age range. Full time employees in both the public and private sector are attending HLSCC part time and the Government and private employers in tandem are happy to accommodate these efforts as the situation presents a win-win scenario for the employee and the employer alike. Hence, all stakeholders are fully cooperative and therefore the pursuit of further education does not stand as a challenge in present day BVI. Which leads us to the bigger questions: What are the issues BVIslanders face in the present career market, and are BVIslanders ready to accept the global challenges taking place in their own back-yard?

All other things remaining equal, the challenge BVIslanders face in today’s globalised market is the quality of the education they obtain. The BVI education system (both primary and secondary) has been facing significant challenges for many years and there is a view that graduates from the Elmore Stoutt High School are not graduating on the same academic level as graduates from other secondary schools in the Caribbean region or internationally, particularly in reading and writing. While it must be correct to say that an overhauling of the BVI education system (primary and secondary) is overdue, unfortunately, this problem has no “patch and go” fixes and can take a significant amount of time to correct even with the most devoted and conscientious efforts. The quality of secondary education our students receive is significant because the competition for the best colleges and universities begins not with an assessment of the student’s performance, but instead with an assessment of the secondary school itself. This leads to the second part of the challenge BVIslanders face – failure or indifference in accessing top universities in the Caribbean, the UK or the USA. If BVIslanders are to compete globally then they must also secure the global integrity of their education by accessing premium institutions at the tertiary level. As an example, some of the people that qualified BVIslander lawyers will compete against for jobs in magic circle law firms have obtained degrees from the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the University of the West Indies and other UK universities in the top 10 or even 20. For this reason, it is imperative for BVIslanders to obtain degrees from these higher institutions of learning as well if we are to truly compete in a globalized market.

High-quality education is increasingly important in the tourism and hospitality sector as well. The field of tourism has changed drastically since the BVI first established itself on the travellers’ map. The sheer size of the industry around the world has led to unprecedented levels of competition, and increasingly sophisticated customers. A friendly disposition alone will no longer get you a good job at the best hotels and resorts; professional training and advanced degrees are now a requirement. Masters and doctoral programmes are available, and the rewards can be equally great: salaries up to six figures for top management at major hotels and resorts.

How then can BVIslanders access this quality education? Information is key to students applying to universities overseas. Many of these BVI students have no idea of the rankings of universities and colleges in which they are interested, or even that such a thing is important, and why. Moreover, as many of them are the first generation in their families to attend university, there is usually no wealth of information to be inherited in making what can perhaps be the most important professional decision of their lives. It is not easy, by any stretch of the imagination, to matriculate into the Oxfords, Cambridges, Harvards and Yales of the world, but it can be done with some effort and some information. It is vital that the BVI Government broadens its scholarship programme to ensure that a library of information is available to prospective students. For example, students interested in tourism need to know that Florida International University and Cornell University offer the two best tourism and hospitality programmes in the United States. Information is compiled internationally on which institutions fall in the top percentile rankings with respect to each discipline of study and we should be making every effort to ensure, to the extent possible, that BVI students who are capable of succeeding at these institutions allow themselves a fair chance to do so.

Additionally, it may be a good idea for a network of BVI college graduates to be created so that they can make the road ahead for new students a little smoother. There is a wealth of information walking and driving around the BVI today from persons who have been through the tertiary experience. Perhaps the Government can tap into some of this expertise and appoint advisors for various disciplines. It could become a prerequisite to the scholarship approval that each applicant has a session with the advisor established for the particular discipline. In this way, the applicant can explore in a real sense any pitfalls with the profession and the institution of interest before too much time is invested. While, it is acceptable that not everyone will be able to access the top institutions, it should not be acceptable, that BVIslanders are not rising to the competition in aggregate with respect to the quality of education they are receiving, particularly in disciplines such as law, accounting, finance, marketing, information technology and tourism and business management as these are critical areas for which we need BVIslander human resources in this growing economy. We should therefore make every attempt to ensure that those BVIslanders who can access these top institutions are not prevented from doing so, due to lack of information and guidance. This challenge can be remedied or at least assuaged at the beginning and intermediate stages of the scholarship approval process, and our students will begin their tertiary education poised for greater success.

Post qualification training is yet another challenge BVIslanders will face in competing in a global market. Just as personality will open doors but only character will keep them open, obtaining a good degree will allow you access to the best jobs, but it will take training, hard work and the right attitude to keep those doors open. It is fundamental that training in the particular discipline is received after the degree is obtained and BVIslanders should ensure that they only seek out the companies and firms who have invested in a training program for newly qualifieds. Structured training programs are more common place in professional firms such as law firms and accounting firms. In smaller companies, there may be no structured training programme, but the philosophy of training should be a central part of the ethos of the organisation. Graduates should be guided into finding jobs that provide training and exposure, rather than simply accepting the first or best offer. To the extent possible, post-qualification training in the professional fields should be pursued at the most reputable of establishments in major cities such as New York, Miami, Washington and London, where graduates will be exposed to the “onshore” side of the financial services sector.

Likewise for the tourism sector, students need to be exposed to jobs at high-end, five-star resorts in other parts of the world in order to understand the truly competitive nature of the tourism market. Such experience, in either professional services or hospitality, will prove extremely beneficial and place a premium on the BVIslander’s marketability when they return home.

Obtaining necessary information, accessing a quality university, obtaining a quality education, post qualification training, maintaining a good work ethic and sustaining a positive attitude are the only challenges facing BVIslanders in the global market operating on their local stage. Can BVIslanders rise to this challenge? Absolutely, but it will require commitment from all the stakeholders to ensure that the complete educational and training infrastructure allows BVIslanders to prepare for this vigorous global competition operating on “Stage British Virgin Islands” and in doing so prevent what can be a blockbuster benefit to the Territory from becoming the proverbial juggernaut to British Virgin Islanders.

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