IT's Growing!!

[Assasin]

Hi, sweeping the floor might not be so bad. I know a few housekeeper who make 70 dollars a house and do, 2 to 4 houses a day(I know you hate this) but it is about the mind as we try to be the best we can. As you say look at the modern day landscapers? not doing too bad but we have to have a base.

ICT maybe good but if we don't have a manufacturing base to go with it we may end up just having a few Engineers and people fielding basic phone calls. While is better than what we have, I am sure it not what you were thinking. There is still some labour centric high tech manufacturers out there, and maybe we could capture one or two if we really try.

[Stonigut]

Don1 as Rhygin woman said in the harder they come, 'you are a dreamer'!
dreaming is good but not very realistic.

I just showed you how your model just got zapped in your best country by two companies pulling out when things got tight, leaving CR holding the empty bag.

I remember in the Tech bubble of 1999 when well educated, smart people from economists to billionaires thought that the new IT technology would solve poverty and world hunger and that the ideas of economic cycles were done, I laughed then as I laugh now as the bottom line is IT is just a way to improve process, bottom line real economy will always rule, everything is based on the fundamental idea of the mismatch between demand and supply, that will never change which means that agriculture, mining, manufacturing and services etc will always be the real economy and IT allows for improvement in the delivery of these goods and services.

[Don1]

Rubbish.

First... What you see as dreaming is actually vision which is being implemented.
We already have a STEM program enabling our students to compete internationally with their age group peers from the USA, Japan, Brazil etc after a mere 4 years...and inspiring many kids around the country re STEM.

It is the prevalence of attitudes like yours that limit the required spread of such STEM programs

Second...The creation of an IT sector in a competitive, globalized environment never progresses in a linear way... they're troughs and peaks ...always.

The key Costa Rica achievement is not attracting Intel... it's creating the conditions for a competitive IT industry on a foundation of education. With that foundation the IT industry will prevail.

IT's a knowledge industry...not sewing garments or selling trinkets

The article you quoted confirmed this reality:

Yet to say this is a catastrophe is unfounded. First and foremost is the fact that Costa Rica's investment climate has not deteriorated at all because of Intel's decision, and 1,500 surplus engineers and technicians will be a prized asset for any company wishing to either set up or expand its presence in the country. A large complaint over the past few years has been that backward linkages between Intel and the rest of the economy have been less than ideal. This may have been a drawback, but it also means that the negative impact on other firms will be weaker once microchip production ceases. Furthermore, there is a tendency towards forgetting that services account for a large share of exports as well. Tourism is obviously the largest component but the second largest happens to be IT services at US$1.9 billion: around four-fifths as much as microprocessors themselves. It is telling that Intel's R&D and servicing facilities will remain in country, and economic policymakers would do well in leveraging its advantages in these sectors further; perhaps becoming a regional hub for business/IT services just as Panama is increasingly being for logistics and banking.

Try anedda tack Stoni...dat one flop

[Stonigut]

That is just hopeful thinking, hanging onto straws really, they don't even mention the other 1500 from the Boa pullout.

If the cr attempt was actually creating real value add It rather than cheap it labor then I would say, wicked! But unfortunately it is the same old model foreign capital foreign technology, mostly foreign workers in key positions, milk the cow and get out leaving the host with both hands in the air and no pants.

I looked for domestic cr it companies and was hard pressed to find any creating any new real value rather then providing back office support.

[Stonigut]

Yup we are best at arguing and fighting, people like you and me need to grow some and take the investment leap. That is no joke biz though you can easily lose shirts pants and underwear, I have much respect for people who take their money and really go for it and actually make it.

[Don1]

Yup we are best at arguing and fighting, people like you and me need to grow some and take the investment leap. That is no joke biz though you can easily lose shirts pants and underwear, I have much respect for people who take their money and really go for it and actually make it.

Ok... but I'm already invested

Beg yuh ah money nuh?

[Islandman]

Sweeping the floor of a factory is not bad if that is all you can do. However the less people we have who can only do that the better it is, both for them and the ones who have another choice.

Yes ICT alone won't do it, nor will anything else especially if 40-50% of the graduating cohort are functionaly illiterate.

[Don1]

Yuh lost... Yuh quick internet searching arms yuh with information about CR... but not knowledge

Guh back guh study

[Don1]

Sweeping the floor of a factory is not bad if that is all you can do. However the less people we have who can only do that the better it is, both for them and the ones who have another choice.

Yes ICT alone won't do it, nor will anything else especially if 40-50% of the graduating cohort are functionaly illiterate.

Apparently Sass wants secure sweeper jobs for that cohort with 40-50% illiteracy

That's actually very practical thinking

[Islandman]

So Stoni, are you saying ICT is not a "real" industry?

You don't think the ICT industry in India, valued at over US$ 100 billion, is part of the "real economy" there? What about the ICT industry in San Francisco, is that not the "real economy" that is sending real estate prices through the roof?

Everything is interconnected in the modern golbal economy. Stating that ICT is not the real economy and just a connector is like saying the oil and gas industry from the 1800s until now is not the real economy, just a connector that allows for delivery of good and services.

[Assasin]

"Sweeping the floor of a factory is not bad if that is all you can do"
It is not bad if you can make a business out of it and be productive. If you add the 40-50% of illiterate, then it adds another dimension to whole argument.

I hope you realize how many technical people and wall street type are now engaged in trades such as truck driving in the US. It is never an excuse to have that much illiterate. Education also goes a far way in getting the best out of Agriculture and Tourism unless you are "farming fool".

[Islandman]

Truck driving can pay quite well, serving food or sweeping the floor in a factory will not unless you have the contract to provide the service.

My problem is not with blue collar work Sass, there are quite a number of blue collar careers that pay very well, better than the typical office job. I am reminded of that every time I pay my plumber or electrician.

My issue is with UNSKILLED work and an oversupply of people who can only do that kind of work. In fact many our our young people can't even do that as they lack the basic discipline required to get up every day and turn up for duty. As HL frequently says, a large pecentage of them are not just unemployed, they are also unemployABLE.

[Stonigut]

Alright mr. don, we closer than yuh think, just not as big as you think it is.

[Assasin]

I-man I understand your frustration. What I am saying is just economics and that is if economy improves in some areas and we have more skill workers, the dynamics would change and remember, part of the reason why we have the unskilled worker is there is no training on the part of employers as they don't hire. You have some kids with 3 or 4 exam passes who are trainable but can't catch a break.

Now if there is upward movement. Opportunity also provides the need for training and if you have a good Agriculture sector you need more QAs, More custom officers etc, and that will lessen then the demand for cleaners and a more enterprising cleaner may find a way to cover the floors at a lower cost and be more productive and make a business out of that.

It is all linked and again a major reason why we have the UNSKILLED workers is because we don't have the demand for skilled workers. It is not just about the education system, but the fact that we close many of our productive entities and consume nothing but foreign product while exporting nothing.

"In fact many our our young people can't even do that as they lack the basic discipline required to get up every day and turn up for duty"

This is true but you have to consider that it is also hard to break that habit after seeking a job for 2-3 years and getting nothing, even if you have 3 to 5 O levels and have no security for college or after school. In the right environment some of these kids would be very functional and given a break could be very progressive.

[Stonigut]

No it is very real, we need to look long and hard at how to maximize the use of it in areas that we have advantages in, building superior process and making our advantages in certain areas even better. Like one area we can reap massive advantages is using IT across the island in agriculture, showing more transparency in markets across the island and putting more choice in the hands of the framers rather than the buyers, getting better connectivity between farmers on fertilizers, seeds connecting them better with Agro companies
Etc etc.

One of our biggest challenges especially on the tourism side is getting the tourist to feel real comfortable in spending their money, the whole game is about getting them to understand their choices and to feel safe about their choices to spend, IT can really pull a lot of that data together and drive that information as many tourists are now coming to Ja with cell phone in hand that actually works in Ja. The restaurants, and attractions will pay for that if they see real traffic coming due to services like these.