Is Saint Lucia A Cemetery For University Graduates?

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he world chews you up and spits you out. Or so it can feel after graduating from university to find you are unwanted, your services not needed. The Americans define it as “post-graduation depression” when graduates sullenly mull over their lives, questioning whether they should have pursued tertiary education in the first place.

I recall being at college in Taiwan when former Prime Minister Kenny Anthony visited with a small party of fellow government ministers. The year was 2013. The prime minister actually advised students that they should be in no haste to  return home—never mind that soft scholarship regulations advised that students return home immediately after graduating—but should instead gain as much work experience in Asia as possible. He said opportunities at home were scarce and we should come home with new ideas. Four years later, after his own visit to Taiwan, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has reportedly offered students similar advice.

Most university graduates take such advice to heart. Out of the seven Saint Lucians who attended the university where I was enrolled, only two of us returned home following graduation between 2013 and 2016. Determined to adhere to a personal oath to follow my instincts at all costs, six months after graduating, amidst protests from acquaintances and while Kenny Anthony’s words echoed between my ears, armed with my artistic ideas and multimedia skills, I booked my flights bound for Saint Lucia. It has been one year and three months since my return and I can report that the warnings were justified, but it is more complicated than one would assume.

Equipped with skills and equipment for video and image editing, as well as basic graphic design, within a few weeks and by merely asking around, I was able to find local videographers in want of freelance editors. I also used my time to work on my writing, mainly as a hobby, and have since been able to turn it into a source of income. The downside I did experience, however, was in relation to wages not matching my expectations. To paraphrase a statement by the Prime Minister last year: local businesses sometimes are simply unable to pay persons what their degrees should earn them. Also, I have noticed: those creative opportunities for which I yearn, I must bring them to fruition myself.

Two other acquaintances who went to school elsewhere, and who both returned to Saint Lucia right after obtaining bachelor degrees in agriculture, informed me that it had taken them approximately six months to land satisfactory jobs—jobs that utilized their expertise and paid well.

Another graduate who walked away with a bachelors degree in media relations, while it is unclear how long he spent job hunting, informed me during a casual conversation that he is now making five times more than what he did prior to going to school. He now has an influential position at a well-known organisation and is also affiliated with a second company that conducts business with individuals from the country where he studied.

On the other hand, I know of two separate cases where after obtaining Bachelor of Science degrees, two graduates went jobless for over six months, unable to find work as lab technicians. One of them has since taken a position where he is making a third of what his degree should earn—until something better presents itself. The other, last time I checked, was still without work. It would appear that, for university graduates returning home, things are not all bad across the board but rather highly situational. More than ever before, young people are being encouraged to create their own job opportunities by starting small businesses. In the coming years we just may see an influx of brave, young entrepreneurs—a group that has already begun to swell in size.