Editor’s Foreword

We are extremely delighted that Mr. Fitzroy Harewood consented to guest-write our monthly feature this November.
Mr. Harewood, an engineer by training has occupied important technical and leadership roles in very
high-valued industries in Trinidad and Tobago, ranging from telecommunications to energy, hydrocarbons and petro-chemicals. He currently serves as the President of Point Lisas Nitrogen Limited (PLNL).
Mr. Harewood self-identifies with the USC alumni community as a graduate of the Andrews University
MBA programme that was taught on the campus of then Caribbean Union College.
Mr. Harewood is a committed ordained elder of the Cochrane Seventh day Adventist Church, Guapo in
deep south-western Trinidad and freely lends his talents and influence to advancing that congregation,
the South Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and the Caribbean Union Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists, through special ministries like ASI and memberships on various committees and advisories.
Our university continues to benefit from his openhandedness with his expertise and his affection for the church and its institutions. At USC’s 91st Graduation Commencement Ceremony, Mr. Harewood was a most worthy recipient of the Spirit of USC Award (see Celebrating Excellence: Mr. Fitzroy Harewood Honored with 2024 Spirit of USC Award).
In this excellent read, we get an industry insider’s perspective on the invaluable traits and character
orientations that are in high demand for successful careers in public and private sectors and in
entrepreneurial adventure.

Extraordinary Servants of God to Humanity: An Industry Perspective

Contemporary organizational psychologists posit that context matters and that individual and group behaviour within organizations usually occur within a context and is rarely capricious. This understanding, that context matters, can also be applied to our understanding of the current and emerging macro and micro economic drivers within in the region. Indeed, these drivers are influencing employers and business owners alike, to the extent that emerging employees and entrepreneurs who understand these “drivers” are better prepared to add sustainability to the world of work and business. As I examine some of these contemporary “drivers” I will highlight the complementary behavioral traits that are valued by employers and then hypothesize that faith-based institutions of higher learning such as the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) are well-suited to prepare their students for their future roles as employees, leaders and entrepreneurs.

A brief examination of the current regional ethos shows that the Caribbean region – post the Covid-19 pandemic – is experiencing moderate and deliberate growth even as the region’s challenges remain in sharp focus by leaders and the population at large. Indeed, those countries that are heavily dependent on tourism are seeing steady improvements in visitor arrivals, hotel occupancies and cruise ship arrivals. Moreover, event tourism has picked up, particularly in sporting events like the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Cricket World Cup and the Caribbean Professional League. Regional territories reliant on extractive industries like oil, gas and mining are also experiencing strong resurgence with Guyana and Suriname also benefiting from new growth experiences based on new discoveries and field developments. Amidst all this, the region continues to focus on improved resilience against the adverse effects of climate change including the adoption of a several energy transition initiatives such as the implementation of renewable energy projects within several countries. Regarding industrial activity, the region continues to be led by enterprises with varied ownership structures including several family-owned businesses, government owned state enterprises and special purpose companies, public-private- partnerships, multinational companies and regional subsidiaries of global entities. Consequently, in the furtherance of continued industrial development, the governments of the region are all focused on increasing foreign direct investments and facilitating robust and regular trade within the world’s global markets.

It is in this context that both industry and government(s) are reliant on the human capital within the region and are investing in education and training to ensure that the skills and competences needed in the short, medium and long terms are available in sufficient numbers to support the growth agenda of the future. Additionally, given that all of this is happening within the shadow of the COVID 19 pandemic, there is also a strong focus on the health and wellbeing of the population and the provision of adequate healthcare services.

However, the global economy (including the Caribbean) is also concerned about ethical behavior and performance in doing business. At first this seems counterintuitive – businesses being concerns about ethics as opposed to just profits? However, after the Enron disaster in 2001 and the financial crash of 2008, the banking and lending agencies of the world have doubled-down on their demands for honesty, forthright disclosures and ethical business practices in the private as well as the public sectors. It is now normal for industrial enterprises to assert and express their commitment to ethical business practices within their corporations and expect the same from those supply chain entities that provide them with goods and services, locally and globally.

This translates into a new reality, that is, prospective employees and entrepreneurs are expected to demonstrate moral and ethical uprightness in addition to skills, competences and certification.

Indeed, present day employers and potential business partners have developed screening and assessment tools to examine these qualities and behaviors in new employees and service partners. They have also institutionalized polices related to whistle blowing, protected disclosures and established compliance departments to provide assurances around ethical behaviors across the length and breadth of the workforce.

This is the world into which tertiary level graduates within the region are entering. A world where the demand for specific skills and competencies is high, as well as the expectation that each graduate will always exhibit moral and ethical behaviors – whether as an employee or as an entrepreneur/service provider.

In my experience, some of the traits that are now valued by businesses and employers include integrity, collaboration, team skills, innovation, resilience and learning capability. This is not an exhaustive list but highlights those traits that I heard being routinely discussed by CEOs and human resource managers across the region and across industries such as government services, healthcare, education, oil and gas, mining, transport, tourism etc.

Some aspirants to the workplace may be foolish enough to think these “ideals” do not really matter but, to adopt such a position, only undermines your value to the workplace and can result in non-sustainable employment or little-to-no business success.

What then are synopses of these few traits?

Firstly, it is well accepted that integrity is about consistently doing the right thing – even when no one is watching. This does not mean that people will not make mistakes, as that is only being human, but the employee with integrity will own up to mistakes when they occur and be willing to disclose same. In the manufacturing world – as in other businesses – such disclosures often save time and money as supervisors usually initiate changes to work processes to reduce the reoccurrence of such mistakes in the future. Moreover, shareholders and business investors have greater assurance around their investments when they know that integrity is valued in the entity of which they are a part.

Collaboration and teamwork are about our ability to get along and to work together to achieve a common objective. From a young age we are taught to collaborate within our families and participating in sporting activities reinforces the value of teamwork. If graduates are to be of value to the region’s industries, they must accept that “no man is and island” and that being able to work with others is a non-negotiable requirement for success.

When it comes to innovation, there is a false belief that new employers and businesses are only looking for the next big idea and consequently some new employees find the grind of routine work, boring. Well, I am of the view that intimacy with the nature of one’s work and enterprise is a natural forerunner for innovation. Think of sports personalities at the top of their game and you will recognize that before they became exceptional, they demonstrated mastery at the fundamentals of their sport. This is true of Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Virat Koli, Brian Lara and the list goes on and on. So, certainly there is a need for today’s employees to be innovative and to consider and propose new approaches to working in this fast-changing environment. However, please prioritize the mastery of your assigned tasks and innovative solutions will present themselves.

Then there is the trait called resilience. Another contemporary belief that is gaining acceptance in the corporate world is that “people make mistakes”. Notwithstanding our best efforts, employees and entrepreneurs of the region (and the world) make mistakes and sometimes we get things wrong. If this understanding of human vulnerability is readily accepted, then we would be motivated to build more robust work systems with significant checks and balances to limit the consequences of human error. However, this also means that employees and entrepreneurs must have the fortitude to “bounce back”
after an error, a loss or a defeat. The old adage “Don’t cry over spilled milk” is applicable here! Resilience is tapping into that capacity within us to rise when we fall and keep on going.

The final trait on our limited list is “learning capability”. In this regard, graduates who are entering or wish to grow the world of work are expected to leverage the learning capabilities developed during their tertiary education. Today’s environment is a rapidly changing one and with the burgeoning access to knowledge – through technological advancements – employers and businesses are looking for employees and business partners who can quickly learn the nuances of the business/industry and apply that knowledge to the success of their organizations. Being able to assess, analyze and apply are the three “A’s” that must be part of the toolkit of the emerging employee. Your learning will not stop at graduation, in fact, an inherent passion for learning is expected for the rest of our lives. This also means that we need to “grow where we are planted”. Learn the job and learn the business! Understand very intimately what you do and learn what others and other departments and businesses do that impact your job and the enterprise of which you are a part.

Having reviewed context and the required traits it is easy to conclude that a learning institution preparing and providing graduates who are able to function in accordance with these traits remains relevant and valuable, now and in the years ahead. This is the value of a faith-based tertiary education institution like the University of the Southern Caribbean to the Caribbean region.

If USC and the other regional institutions can produce graduates with the skills and competencies needed during this time of regional growth and energy transition, who also possess the complementary traits we discussed, then their (USC and other tertiary institutions) value and relevance to the world is beyond question. This is not a time to shy away from promoting faith-based values but a time to herald and reinforce them.

Today’s enterprises, including those in the Caribbean region, are desperately in need of skilled and competent workers who can serve their organizations with integrity, resilience, a willingness to collaborate, work easily in teams and a passion for continuous learning as the macro and micro economic environment constantly changes.

All of this, in my view, sounds like real opportunities for preparing and sending “extraordinary servants of God to humanity”.