Sunil Sinha Technical Director Emerging Market Economics December 2006

1. Strategic Plan for the Promotion of Professional Services Exports in Barbados – Engineering and Construction-related Services Sunil Sinha Technical Director Emerging Market Economics December 2006

2. Overview • Strong international demand: • World market for construction-related, knowledge-based services (engineering, architecture) worth about US$600 billion • About $300 billion is contestable by specialist firms • Market can be divided into engineering and architectural services

3. International Trends Engineering Services • Most services supplied domestically due to qualification requirements • But, international trade increasing due to: • Cost differentials, increased specialisation • Large projects requiring expertise, experience, scale • Engineer shortage in some countries, cheap engineers in others • Offshoring to cheaper in-house locations and outsourcing to low-cost destinations • Outsourcing typically through local sub-contracting and farming out of low-value added services Architectural Services • Lower trade volumes due to more stringent registration requirements • Outsourcing will remain limited to labour-intensive activities like draughtsmanship

4. Local Capability • 180 corporate members of Barbados Association of Professional Engineers • Estimated 40 chartered engineers • About 24 architecture firms, 64 members of Barbados Institute of Architects, 10-12 professionals constitutes a large firm

5. Target Markets • CSME for engineering and architecture • UK for engineering – shortage of professionals • EPAs likely to remove restrictions on practicing in EU countries, could open up architecture market

6. Market Positioning • High quality professionals, long-established large firms provide basis for providing high-quality services for large projects in CSME • Particular skills in environmental management, disaster mitigation, other area? • Labour cost advantage over US, Western Europe?

7. Marketing Activities – Brand Awareness Objective: Increase profile of sector internationally • Website: Promote Barbados as source of quality construction-related services; avoids restrictions engineers, architects face in marketing themselves

8. Marketing Activities – Direct Marketing Objective: Create export opportunities • Marketing Trips:Larger, export-ready firms to meet with UK firms to offer outsourcing services • Partnerships: Larger local firms sub-contract work to smaller domestic providers; smaller providers associate with each other to increase scale and improve ability to win international work • Marketing Support/Intelligence: Provide training to small providers in preparing competitive tenders, monitor project profiles

9. Enabling Environment Objective: Addresslocal factors constraining growth • Accreditation: EPA should allow temporary work in Europe without qualification, should also work towards mutual recognition of qualifications • Free Movement: CSME should alleviate requirements for local accreditation, ensure local content is reduced. • Skills: increase supply of draughtsman • Incentives: improve access to export incentives and finance for SMEs • Alliances: forge private-private and private-public partnerships

10. Thank you