Educational system is not adequate with needs

There is a problem in the country in terms of the formation of specialized technicians to fill the positions which are vacant in the market and that could be occupied by foreigners, there is no change in the culture and the mentality of Panamanians, as well as the educational system. Experts indicate that the young people that admitted into a University feel the need of studying a Bachelor or engineering or a master’s degree, since they consider that this way they could achieve an improvement in their quality of life and have a higher economic income. However, reality is different, and studies indicate that, today, specialized and certified technicians are being paid the same and even more than someone with Bachelor degree or master’s degree. According to the demand of employment projections contained in the report of the Higher Committee of Employment of November 2014, a demand of 232 thousand 289 new jobs is expected between 2015 and 2020. This demand will require 159 thousand 141 technicians, 25 thousand 393 professionals and 47 thousand 756 unskilled workers.  However, the demand for technicians will be in sectors such as trade, 36 thousand 799; construction, 37 thousand 209; Logistics, 36 thousand 52; Agriculture, 20 thousand 333; tourism, 17 thousand 153, and industry, 11 thousand 594.  "Our educational system has been historically divorced from the working reality of the country, including the universities", said René Quevedo, expert in human resources. He said that the education sector is not generating the competencies required by the productive sector because there is very little communication and coordination between the two, nor is it measured the relationship between education and labor sustainability of its graduates. And the reality in the country is the existence of an oversupply of university professionals and a deficit of 41% in the training of technicians required by the country. "There are many undergraduate and graduate programs, but just a few technical programs, which is what the country needs at the moment", Mr. Quevedo said. In accordance with the expert, among the types of technicians that are required by sector are, for trade, sellers, customer service personnel, and warehouse and supervisors staff.  Meanwhile, in the construction sectors, masons, carpenters, intensifiers, plumbers, welders, electricians and supervisors are required. Mr. Quevedo said that the logistics sector will require assistants and supervisors of warehouse, operators, drivers, packers, packers, traffic and customs personnel, as well as supervisors. Moreover, the tourism sector needs customer service staff and tour guides, and the industry, operators, assistants, supervisors and mid-level technicians. Mr. Quevedo indicates that with the conclusion of the enlargement of the Canal, it is expected to accelerate the training of technicians in the logistics and in the maritime sectors. Additionally, he stated that "to activate the public investment, which has historically happened from the third year of every government, construction projects and infrastructure are affecting the demand for qualified personnel in the construction industry". "Of every 100 direct new jobs in the construction sector, some 50 indirect jobs are generated, particularly in the trade sector", said the expert. The rector of the Universidad Católica Santa Maria La Antigua (Usma), Juan Planells, recognizes that there is a gap between the demand of the market and the supply. "One has to work on this issue because we are graduating technicians who do not have employment opportunities and we do not have technicians in the areas that require them," he said. "We must match the institutions of education with that technical training that companies need", he said. "The universities are not graduating technicians, but BA´s, the technical problem begins now to be a reason of interest for Higher Education Centers, thus we need to look deep into the needs of the market", the HR expert further stated. He pointed out that there is a huge need of technicians in logistics, sea and land, and there are no courses that ensure the formation of technicians that companies need. Rodolfo Sabonge, of International Maritime University of Panama, stressed that it is certain that they need technical staff, but not handcraft-skilled ones, but with certain a degree of specialization and international certifications. He pointed out that Panama is attracting multinational companies, and they are going to ask the candidate for a post to have some type of certification. "This indicates that we must improve our technical capacity." "If we are talking about companies that come to develop projects of construction of stations or underground structures, the electrician level must be certified at the international level because they will be working with plans and the latest of technology",  he said. He explained that the same happens with technicians in air conditioning, since "it is not the same working on residential air cooling systems than in an A/A plant for a shopping complex or a 60-story building". This also applies to welders, they need to specialize to work on the maritime sector tasks, since welding in this area is highly valuable and assessed and must comply with certain standards.