The National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST), in collaboration with our project partner and sponsor, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), embarked on a study to ascertain current and future demands of the STEM workforce within five emerging sectors in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Assessment of 21st Century Skills Across Emerging Sectors focused on the following five industries: Maritime, Aviation, Tourism, Software design and applications and Agro-processing. These sectoral assessments would provide invaluable data to support the development of policies and programmes aimed at addressing the needs of industry and strengthening the labour force.

The objectives of the study are to:

• Provide data on the skills mismatches in emerging sectors
• Provide data on the demand for STEM graduates in emerging sectors
• Provide information to improve the alignment between education and labour market demand
• Provide data to inform policy-makers, education specialists, industry and all stakeholders in creating policies to develop the STEM workforce of the country
• Provide data on key areas where scholarships/incentives are needed to encourage students to pursue degrees in these fields
• Collaborate with the public universities to align their programmes to the key STEM areas and to introduce new programmes where necessary
• Provide information to introduce students to relevant STEM careers necessary for growth and development of critical sectors of the economy

Data collection for this study was conducted during the period October to November 2023. The data was subsequently analysed and five draft reports were completed. These reports are scheduled to be finalised and published in the last quarter of 2025.

The results of the survey will be available for viewing on the NIHERST and ILO websites as well as through a request to the S&T Statistics Department of NIHERST.