Brain gain programme

A recent report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) puts a new perspective on brain drain. The report notes that this phenomenon, usually seen as a loss, may have the potential to be a gain to the Caribbean region — if, that is, the proper structures are put in place. These structures would essentially try to tap into the network of Caribbean persons living overseas in order to use them for the benefit of the region. This is not a new idea. The Asian countries have been doing this for some time now — indeed, even the initiative by India to give legal status to People of Indian Origin is an attempt to utilise  the economic potential of the descendants of migrants for India’s benefit. But, in its standard form, the brain drain network tries to repatriate the skilled expatriates for various periods of time or attaches them to specific development programmes.

This recommendation has great potential. It is a given that, if Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean are to become developed, we need the talents of our best and brightest. Clearly, the wealth this country gets from oil and gas alone isn’t going to do it, as shown by our high crime rate and poverty statistics. Tiny Barbados, with virtually no resources save its blue seas and its people, is more advanced than TT in all the most important developmental indicators. But the region’s best and brightest often leave their home islands seeking a better life in the metropolitan nations. In the smaller islands, this may actually be a benefit, since these individuals send back money and goods to their relatives in the islands. But, as the ECLAC report points out, studies need to be done to assess the socio-economic impact of this long-standing tradition. Only then would the brain gain networks be properly structured.

In fact, we would suggest that getting back expatriates on a temporary basis is not sufficient. The ECLAC report notes that the two categories of workers most frequently taken by the metropolitan nations are in health care and education. What the region’s governments can do (and do preferably on a regional rather than national basis) is set up an agency to negotiate on behalf of the workers. Naturally, it is up to the workers to use this agency or not, but the idea is that their skills would be used in the foreign nations only for a specific period of time and, if they use the agency, they would be guaranteed a job when they return.

This would benefit both the country and the individual worker. The country would be losing its skilled personnel only for a short period, while the worker would make the extra money which is usually the main motive for migration. Indeed, most persons who migrate would prefer to return home to live, so the idea of a temporary overseas working period should be welcomed. If a pilot brain gain programme is properly handled, the Caribbean has the potential to become a net exporter, not of migrants, but of skilled services. History shows that Caribbean people have been habitually able to go overseas and be successful. So, once we continue to develop our education and social sectors regionally, we can create a system which takes advantage of globalisation — where our people live in their island of birth, but sell their services to any country which needs them anywhere in the world.