By Lindy-Ann Edwards-Alleyne, Public Information Assistant, UNIC Caribbean
Question: What do you wish decision-makers understood about young people and work in the Caribbean?
Response: There is value in training and teaching skills to young workers and most young people are eager to learn.
— UNIC Caribbean Future of Work for Caribbean Youth Survey
Listen to Episode 1 of this Podcast Series:
From February to March 2026, the United Nations Information Centre for the Caribbean Area (UNIC Caribbean) invited young people from across the region to participate in a survey about the Future of Work. We found that most respondents were focusing on education, training and various modes of employment - including internship and volunteering – as they navigated the labour market. By their own description, this search for employment proved to be a frustrating struggle that seldom delivered what they considered to be ‘good jobs’ or what the United Nations as decent work: productive work with opportunities to move up the productivity ladder, that pays enough to live and build a future, and which guarantees rights, human dignity and social protections.
In developing countries, an in the next decade. Current Caribbean statistics on youth participation in the labour market indicate : There has been a decline in the participation of young people in the labour force from 39.2% in the year 2000 to 36.4% in the year 2024. The youth unemployment rate for CARICOM (excluding Haiti) stands at 17.6% and the rates of Caribbean youth Not in Employment, Education or Training () sit at approximately 24% annually.
According to the young people who responded to the UNIC Caribbean’s Future of Work for Caribbean Youth survey, to support youth entry into the labour market. The definition of an internship given by the ILO in its is “any arrangement for the performance of work within a business or organization which is primarily intended to provide experience, skills, and/or contacts that will help the participant obtain employment or other work opportunities in the future.”
Since 2021, UNIC Caribbean has hosted United Nations Interns as part of the global UN Secretariat Internship Programme. Interns gain firsthand exposure to the operations and work environments of the various UN offices that are part of the UN Secretariat, across several duty stations and field offices. These internships are also unpaid – interns or their sponsoring institutions are responsible for all costs, including travel, visas, medical insurance (required for the duration of the internship period), and living expenses.
Properly designed internship programmes, whether paid or unpaid, can provide early, intentional and dignified inclusion of young people in the labour market. Mindful of its regional and operating context, UNIC Caribbean has carefully and intentionally designed internship experiences that provide hands-on mentorship and project-based learning so that interns fully explore United Nations communications including digital communications and social media, public information, outreach and advocacy. Work programmes are co-designed with interns to ensure their areas of interest are prioritized, and that they are exposed to and can participate in the work of the United Nations in the Caribbean.
As we observe International Youth Day 2026 on August 12, UNIC Caribbean is continuing our inquiry into the experience of Caribbean Youth in the regional labour market. In our 6-part podcast series, “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations”, former UNIC Caribbean Public Information and Digital Communications Interns share their perspectives on the importance of internships. Amy Ramkissoon, Sarah Baksh, Sheneca Castello, Antonia Leitz, Jada Ramnath and Mikhail Cooper reflect on their individual experiences and comment on the value an internship can add to the professional lives of young people.
We invite you to check out each of these “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations” podcasts, every Monday and Wednesday from 17 August to the end of the month, on the United Nations Caribbean and our podcast platform #BuildBackBetterCaribbean.
