Only about 30 percent of the nearly 200,000 people who make up the Bahamian workforce have completed some form of higher education, a recently released Labour Force Survey has revealed.
According to the survey, approximately 190,075 Bahamians make up the workforce, which includes both employed and unemployed people.
The report indicates that only about 57,530 of those Bahamians completed college or some other form of tertiary education.
Additionally, the survey reveals that the majority of working Bahamians (53 percent) have only completed high school.
Two percent of the workforce had no schooling at all, while six percent went as far as primary school.
Kelsie Dorsett, director of the Department of Statistics, said there is a serious deficiency in the number of college-educated workers.
She pointed out that among the unemployed they are fewer people who have completed college, in comparison to those who just have secondary education.

"A very large proportion of them have a university education, compared to a smaller portion of the unemployed persons having that," Dorsett said. "So it is an advantage to all to get as much education as they possibly can. Even when you look at employers looking for staff, they have certain criteria. They want so many BGCSEs or they want people with bachelor's degrees. In the technical area, they would want certification at a certain level."
The statistics also reveal that more women have completed university or some other tertiary institution. The report shows that about 33,000 women received higher education compared to 23,000 men.
However, there are more unemployed women than men.
The report also shows that 39,935 women are employed compared to the 44,785 men employed.
Dorsett said the report points to the need for Bahamians to pursue higher education.
"The higher the level of education tends to show [how] properous the country is. Whether that education is of a technical nature or academic nature is not as significant as it was in the past, it depends on the economy and the focus of the country," she explained.
According to the report, the top industries include social and personal services; wholesale and retail; hotel and restaurant; financing, insurance and real estate; and construction.
"Regardless to what the goals of the economy are, it's beneficial to all to have the highest level of technical and academic education that you can," Dorsett said.
More recent unemployment figures are expected to be released at the end of the summer.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian