Contributing writer Dickson Igwe
First of two stories stating that the vocations and technical subjects are critical for Virgin Islands development and prosperity
A popular Virgin Islands Senator stated recently, in an online news story, that, Virgin Islands society is still imbued with the false and limiting notion that success only came, ‘’ with a JACKET and TIE.’’ Ironically, this is a mentality that appears to have affected, even better stated, INFECTED, most so called, ‘’developing economies and countries,’’ especially India, many an African nation, and the West Indies.
It is a ‘hangover’ from the colonial era, and an Old World idea, adopted from when the British Empire of the early to mid 1900s was governed by a ‘GENTLEMAN CLASS.’ This was a cadre of men specially groomed to rule: Anglo Saxon aristocrats who were educated at Eton, Harrow, Oxford, and Cambridge: the rugby and cricketing classes.
In today’s world, that old time social culture is disappearing. The old story of snobbishness, and a HIGH BROW BOURGEOISE appeal, inherited from a socially stratified and monarchial Europe, is increasingly an economic and commercial ALBATROSS.
This was an era of romance for some, a time when the British upper classes went to Sandhurst Military Academy, and then joined the officer corps; or became bankers and lawyers in the City of London. A number established themselves as clergy within the Church of England establishment.
The colonies were imbued with this British culture that placed the ruling and upper classes on the proverbial pedestal. And it has formed the basis for class division in much of the Commonwealth and Overseas Territories. It remains a hugely influential aspect of the social culture in the West Indies and elsewhere. It is also at the root of the Western financial services culture
In any event, that British class model is increasingly an anachronism, especially in today’s technology driven global economy. This is a new world driven by international trade and technology: a paradigm that places skill, scientific and technological knowhow, and the new advanced manufacturing, at the top of the social and economic pecking order: not accent, dress, and nuance, of a long gone era of empire.
A symbol of aristocracy. Photo courtesy onialeong.deviantart.com
Returning to the British Virgin Islands of March 2013, and the Senator urged, that all jobs were, ‘’ legitimate jobs.’’ What cannot be disputed is that in the industrialized nations, the technical and vocational disciplines drive national economies, and are the mainstay of small business, employing the majority of the workforce.
Some of the highest paid workers in the world are trained in the vocations. This is something the Pacific economies know only too well, while the Western world appears hell bent on fostering a white collar culture. This idea that white collar tasks are superior to blue collar craftsmanship has today brought about recession, and social and economic decline.
Germany appears to be a Western exception to that rule, and in the USA, President Barack Obama has been proponent of a new manufacturing idea based upon clean energy and environmental sustainability. The President is also promoting the retraining of the USA workforce in much needed technical skills at community colleges around that great nation.
Successful construction worker. Photo courtesy .visualphotos.com
In these Virgin Islands, building contractors, welders, plumbers, marine specialists, and other hands on professionals, are among the highest earners and most successful business people in the community. So the notion that the vocational disciplines are some type of stepchild of the more traditional academia is an absurd one indeed.
It is also very damaging. This is so because it makes the pursuit of vocational qualifications appear a secondary option, and for those unable to attain regular academic qualifications.
This is not only a lie it is also a false and deceptive notion: a very foolish modus Vivendi.
To be continued
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