By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): A candid assessment from the CEO of the Ministry of Immigration is shining a spotlight on one of the most uncomfortable truths about Belize’s labor market: Belizeans are simply not taking many of the manual labor jobs that are available, and the country is increasingly turning to its Central American neighbors to fill that gap.
Tanya Santos, CEO of the Ministry of Immigration, made the admission while speaking publicly about the growing demand for foreign workers across multiple sectors of the Belizean economy.
“I think efforts have been made in the past to get Belizeans to do some of those manual tasks in the agriculture industry. It didn’t fare well, and I don’t think it will now either,” Santos said plainly.
She pointed to the banana and coconut industries as prime examples where standing arrangements have been established with Guatemala and Honduras to bring in workers for manual labor. Agriculture has long depended on this foreign workforce, and Santos indicated that this dependence is not going away anytime soon.
However, the demand for foreign workers is no longer limited to agriculture. Santos confirmed that the construction industry is now actively seeking workers from abroad as requests for construction labor continue to rise. Even more striking, she revealed that the medical sector is experiencing a significant increase in requests for foreign doctors from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.
This is occurring at the same time that Belizean doctors are leaving the country through opportunities available under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy arrangement.
“We have maybe three or four doctors who have left recently,” Santos confirmed.
The picture that emerges from Santos’ assessment is that of a labor market being pulled in two directions at once. Belizeans are leaving in search of opportunities abroad, while foreign workers are arriving to fill critical gaps across the agriculture, construction, and healthcare sectors.
The post From bananas to coconuts to construction Belize is importing workers because its own citizens will not do the work appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): A candid assessment from the CEO of the Ministry of Immigration is shining a spotlight on one of the most uncomfortable truths about Belize’s labor market: Belizeans are simply not taking many of the manual labor jobs that are available, and the country is increasingly turning to its Central
The post From bananas to coconuts to construction Belize is importing workers because its own citizens will not do the work appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
