St. Lucia Simply Beautiful

May 30, 2007

EDWARD HARRIS AT LARGE!

PERSONS WITH QUALIFICATIONS BY EXPERIENCE NEED TO BE INVOLVED AT ALL LEVELS OF ENDEAVOUR IN THE ST. LUCIAN SOCIETY!

A few months ago I was imbibing with some of my friends in a popular local bar and for the first time I heard about QBEs, and I hastened to find out the meaning of the abbreviation. I was told that it stands for Qualification By Experience. I am a believer in such persons because on occasions when I wear the hat of an employer, I see persons without formal education out perform many who were otherwise qualified.

An employer’s best asset is to find someone who is qualified by experience as the employee will continuously be on a crusade to justify his/her appointment. People without formal qualifications work harder and are more conscientious seeking to express gratitude at all times for the opportunity that was afforded them by the employer. However, the employer must be smart enough not to exploit such employees by giving in return poor wages and conditions of work.

It has been noted over and over again that QBEs are pushed aside in favour of PhDs at substantial loss to the employer be it in the Private or Public Sector. Mistakes can be costly and it is always better to avoid trial and error. In the Caribbean there are very few situations where fully qualified persons serve a period of apprenticeship. Once a person passes through university and is qualified/specialised in a particular field, there is seldom a period of apprenticeship in the region, a situation which is sometimes caused by shortage of manpower. Once the opening matches the person’s university qualifications, it is OK. Many instances, the person recruited has no passion for what he or she is asked to do. Many times inter action with officials in their various offices leave much to be desired. It is all because of a lack of passion. The person must fit the role, not the role fitting the qualifications. It is very obvious these days that Vacancy Advertisements are very specific and seldom carry the line after noting the university qualifications – “or persons with related job experiences may apply”. In the past that line was intended for QBEs.

Another situation which is common is employers recruiting persons who are over qualified for jobs which in many instances, the persons are just holding on until the right job comes along. This situation sets up employees to frustrate the persons whom they are recruited to serve. Customer satisfaction can only be guaranteed when employees are committed to service and are passionate about their jobs. It is a win -win situation when an employer is able to spot an employee who has the experience and seeks to grasp an opportunity that affords upward mobility. Give me a QBE who is passionate about the assignment being offered any day.

We have associations for all types of professions, isn’t time we have an Association for QBEs??? This could be one way of providing the street smarts and practical know how to the newly qualified professionals. It is time for those with the knowledge of doing things right the first time to document their findings and place them in the public domain even it has to be at a fee, just do it and leave it as a legacy to the nation.

I was having a conversation with myself recently and my thoughts took me on a Caribbean journey to re acquaint myself with the herbs and barks and other medicinal trees and plants in the region. I asked the question aloud – why can’t we develop a commercial line of herbal medicines for our peoples and the rest of the world? In spite of the stringent standards set for drugs by the FDA in the USA, herbal products in the USA are allowed a free pass for local and export consumption while all types of red tapes are placed on similar imported products. It is time that we free up the system and allow the QBEs to do what they have proven over the years to work and rid our people from diabetes, hypertension, various colds, prostate, etc, etc. I am reliably informed that there are herbal cures for all types of common diseases in the region but our QBEs are not given a real opportunity to produce and market their products commercially.

I am seeing a need for Research and Development Agencies to be established to bring products to the fore to be commercialized. Do we expand the role of the existing Bureau of Standards? The time has come for our Government to look in the direction of wealth creation through facilitation of innovation and technology including R & D to advance the economic base of our country. The National Development Corporation should play a greater role in channeling investments in certain areas consistent with the needs of the country. Everyone is concerned about the way forward for St. Lucia. The big question is – how can we put idle hands to work? It is argued that crime is directly related to poverty and poverty is a consequence of lack of employment opportunities. In planning the attack on poverty, the QBEs should be called in to discuss how they can put 5,000 jobs on the market each year for the next five years.

In my last article, I referred to a gentleman who is seeking to establish a World Humanitarian Bank with the opportunity for individuals to deposit their skills and they will be called upon to respond to various projects from time to time. I asked him if Caribbean QBEs and experts could participate and he answered in the affirmative. I will be sharing the good news with you as soon as it is available. I am hopeful that Chapters would be established in various regions of the world including the Caribbean as we seem to work best with international organizations.

Congrats to the QBEs of St. Lucia and I look forward to your contributions to the well being of the nation. What you do in the interest of your community will form a substantial part of your legacy. It is by your works that you can contend with Peter at the gate, even though it is by GRACE you will enter into eternity.

Keep the Faith, God is in Charge, Expect Miracles in 2007!!!

Edward Harris
Email: eaharrisdestiny@gmail.com
Websites: http://www.edwardharris.ws http://www.stluciasimplybeautiful.com http://www.stluciarealtors.com http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/edalharris

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 at 1:07 AM and is filed under Ed Harris. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.