Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Acronyms and Abbreviations -- 1. Introduction and Summary: The Eastern Caribbean Economy is Transforming and so should the Education System -- Main Findings -- Recommendations -- 2. School Matters: The Crucial Role of Skills in the New Eastern Caribbean Economy -- 3. Preparing Youth for the Labor Market -- A General Disconnect between the Education Sector and the Labor Market -- The Relevance of Secondary Education -- Specific Skills Sought in Today's World of Work -- Improving Availability and Relevance of Professional Skills -- Policy Recommendations to Improve Relevance of Formal Education -- 4. From School to Work: Building Skills for Youth's Transition to the Labor Market -- Policy Recommendations to Improve the Transition from School to Work -- 5. Training the Work Force -- Policy Recommendations to Increase Training of the Labor Force -- 6. Improving the Link between School and Work: What are the Next Steps? -- Policy Suggestions to Improve the Relevance of Formal Education -- Policy Suggestions to Assist Youth in the Transition from School to the Labor Market -- Policy Suggestions to Increase Job Training of the Work Force -- Appendixes -- A. Executive Summary: Monitoring Educational Performance in the Caribbean -- B. Summary of Public Expenditure Reviews in the Caribbean Published 2005-06 -- References -- TABLE 1. Low Enrollment and Low Private Investment in Post-Secondary Education -- TABLE 2. Ranking of the OECS Labor Regulations -- TABLE 3. Costs and Impact of Programs Vary -- TABLE 4. An Overview of the Caribbean Vocational Qualification Framework -- FIGURE 1. The Transforming OECS Economy -- FIGURE 2. Education, The Ultimate Poverty Fighter (Wage, Age, and Education in St.Vincent and the Grenadines) -- FIGURE 3. Lack of Skills Considered the Biggest Obstacle for Grenadian Firms.

FIGURE 4. Grenadian Skills Gap Most Severe in the Western Hemisphere -- FIGURE 5. New Jobs in the Services Demand Skills (Grenada) -- FIGURE 6. CXC Pass Rates, 2003 -- FIGURE 7. The Decline of Routine and Manual Tasks -- FIGURE 8. St. Kitts and Nevis: Employers' Desired Skills -- FIGURE 9. Caribbean: Employers' Desired Skills -- FIGURE 10. Source of Revenue for Post-Secondary Education -- FIGURE 11. Exceptionally High Youth Unemployment in the OECS -- FIGURE 12. Youth Unemployment to Total Unemployment -- FIGURE 13. A Look at Youth Unemployment in St. Lucia -- FIGURE 14. Most Crime in Jamaica is Committed by Youth -- FIGURE 15. Reasons for Leaving Last Job -- FIGURE 16. A 36 Percent Decline in Births in St.Vincent and the Grenadies over 20 Years Increases the Importance of Upgrading Skills in the Labor Force -- FIGURE 17. Firm Training in Grenada Can Be Enhanced -- FIGURE 18. Factors Influencing Firm Training in Grenada -- FIGURE B1. Record High Public Spending in the Caribbean -- BOX 1. Key Statistics to Remember -- BOX 2. What Do Firms and Investors in the OECS Say About Availability of Skills? -- BOX 3. What is Driving the Rising Demand for Skilled Labor? -- BOX 4. Definitions of Skills Concepts -- BOX 5. Did the Disconnect between Education and Labor Market Needs Arise from Past Endowment and Policies? -- BOX 6. How UK Learning and Skills Councils Coordinate Demand and Supply of Skills at the Local Level -- BOX 7. Jobs in Business Require Expert Thinking and Complex Communication -- BOX 8. The Teaching of Life Skills is also a Major Challenge in OECD Countries -- BOX 9. Global Best Practice on Governance of Post-secondary Education Institutions -- BOX 10. Impact of the Youth Training Programs in Argentina and Chile -- BOX 11. The Caribbean Vocational Qualification Framework (CVQ).

BOX 12. The Barbados TVET Council Employment and Training Fund (ETF) -- BOX 13. Demand-driven Work-based Training: The Chef Program in Jamaica.