Contesting Tourism and Youth Skills Discourse in Caribbean Resort Economies

Abstract

Global youth workforce development initiatives promote a linear vision of economic mobility that links youth skills to locally productive labor markets. Yet racialization intervenes in how young people's skills and capabilities are perceived and valued. In the Dominican Republic, educators and youth contest the grounds of education and employment initiatives aligned with tourism's dependency on their criminalization, exclusion, and exploitation. Their insights demand a shift in focus away from employer-centered models that deepen inequality.