Mather: Graduates Told to 'Wait Six Months'
Territorial At-Large Representative Stacy Mather warned during debate on the 2026 budget that many young Virgin Islanders returning after higher education are being told to wait months for jobs, undermining efforts to rebuild the territory's workforce. He said slow government processes and a lack of immediate opportunities risk driving graduates to seek careers overseas.
Territorial At-Large Representative Stacy Mather has raised fresh concern about the employment prospects for young Virgin Islanders returning home after completing higher education, saying some are being told to "wait six months" for work. Speaking during debate on the 2026 budget estimates, Mather said his comments followed a recent conversation with a local graduate who was told to wait half a year before beginning employment.
He used the example to highlight what he described as a wider failure to absorb the skills and training of people who follow the long-standing advice to leave, study, and return to contribute to the territory. "When a young person in this territory cannot exit, go to college, get a degree and come back, thats why they leave," Mather told the House.
He warned that delays in approvals and employment decisions within government systems were undermining confidence among young people eager to start careers at home. Mather contrasted this experience with opportunities abroad, where some Virgin Islanders can "hit the ground running" on arrival.
He said the combination of slow hiring processes and limited immediate openings is pushing young people to consider moving elsewhere permanently, with troubling implications for the territorys future workforce and long-term development. The at-large representative urged that the 2026 budget should deliver tangible results for young people seeking to begin working lives at home, rather than simply exhorting them to return.
He asked pointedly who will benefit from local opportunities if systems remain unaffordable or inaccessible to BVI residents. For residents, the warning underscores a familiar policy challenge: how to translate education and training into local jobs, housing and the ability to establish long-term roots.
Analysts and advocates often point to measures such as faster public-service recruitment, graduate placement programs, incentives for private-sector hiring of locals, recognition of overseas qualifications, and targeted budget allocations to absorb new talent. Mathers remarks add pressure on lawmakers and administrators as they finalise the 2026 estimates, reminding decision-makers that prompting young people to return without clear pathways into employment risks a continued brain drain and a smaller pool of skilled workers for the BVI economy.
Primary source: BVI News