Market Assessment for Skills in the Agribusiness and Construction Sectors in the Saint Marc Region
- Farmers asked for general training in crops and livestock care and in operating mechanized equipment such as motorized cultivators.
- Formal agribusiness in the corridor is limited to a handful of very large firms and small supply stores, so demand for agricultural technicians, mechanics and machine operators is growing but limited.
- Construction has a far more active network of employers than agriculture, led by informal contractors called kontramet, and offers better prospects for job seekers.
- Construction employers and workers consider masonry and carpentry, together with electrical, metal, tile and plumbing work, the trades most likely to lead to a job.
- Skilled and unskilled construction laborers want to attend vocational school while continuing to work.
- The report recommends scheduling classes for people who already work on weekend afternoons and evenings.
The research was commissioned by the Local Enterprise and Value Chain Enhancement Project (LEVE), a USAID-USDA program working with the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) to rehabilitate three vocational schools. It informs course planning at the École Moyenne d'Agriculture de la Vallée de l'Artibonite (EMAVA) outside Saint-Marc. A vocational school run by CORAM in Saint-Marc took part to strengthen its capacity to conduct market analyses.
The team compiled a list of employers, ran a free-list survey, interviewed 153 employers and 157 farmers by telephone, and surveyed construction workers at sites nearest to 50 randomly selected GPS points. Of the employer respondents, 135 (92 percent) were in construction. The report finds strong demand for training in both sectors, with better job prospects in construction, where the central trades of masonry and carpentry, and specialties such as electrical, metal and tile work and plumbing, are most in demand. It recommends general instruction in farming techniques and livestock care, training in machine operation and repair, and weekend and evening classes for people who are already working.
How to cite
Harold Maass, 2016, Market Assessment for Skills in the Agribusiness and Construction Sectors in the Saint Marc Region, accessed via HaitiDocs, https://www.haitidocs.org/doc/maass-2016-market-assessment-skills-saint-marc
- Rights holder
- Harold Maass