Prime Minister Gaston Browne says Antigua and Barbuda is facing a labour shortage as a result of rapid economic growth and increased construction activity driven by foreign investment.
“We have a shortage of employment in a number of sectors—the hotel sector, the construction sector. We are actually importing construction workers now because we can’t find enough skilled labor.”
Browne noted the scope of upcoming developments and said the labour force is struggling to keep pace.
“The problem we have now is labour, in terms of the physical labour to build out these projects.”
He pointed to the national housing programme as one area directly affected.
“Even national housing—the housing construction has come to a screeching halt.”
The Prime Minister disclosed that the government is already in discussions to bring in foreign workers to fill the gap.
“We are likely to get in some workers, probably from the Dominican Republic. I know that Senator Rawdon Turner is currently negotiating with the ambassador to the Dominican Republic to get some workers.”
He stressed that the influx of foreign labour is necessary to maintain momentum across the country’s development projects.
“I don’t recall at any point in the history of Antigua and Barbuda that we had to deliberately allow for the importation of foreign workers like that.”
According to Browne, the labour shortage is a direct consequence of the success of his administration’s investment-driven strategy.
“We have attracted significant investments that can take us for at least another five years… Things are really looking up.”
