Education

‘Pave Your Path’ Getting Youth Ready For World Of Work

For close to 177 years, the National Library Service (NLS) has been fulfilling its mandate of serving the Barbadian community as a ready source of information products and services.

Many adults can share memories of their youth while at a branch of the NLS and being caught up in the pages of their favourite book, or a magazine on cooking or craft.

In recent times, the NLS has broadened its scope by offering training programmes to assist young children and adults in improving their literacy and other skills geared towards the workforce.

One such initiative was the recent Pave Your Path Summer Programme for Job Seekers, held at the Tamarind Hall Branch in the Eric Holder Junior Municipal Complex, St. Joseph, for young people ages 16 and over. This was a first for the NLS.

Participant Juliana Marshall receiving a token from Sandra Reifer-Wallerson, Senior Manager of Retail Banking at Republic Bank.

Participants were taught business etiquette, how to write a Curriculum Vitae and Cover letter, prepare for a job interview, and communicate at work. There was also a session on opening a bank account and financial literacy.

Officer in Charge of the Tamarind Hall Branch, Astrid Mayers, who conceptualised the programme, spoke about its significance to a team from the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), who journeyed there to capture the students in action.

“I know that there are other governmental organisations that do something similar, but I feel like the library, in recent times, needs to pivot from just books and reading and studying, to educating the public. In other words, emphasis should be placed on more than just book learning but on life learning…. So, teaching people how to do a CV to enter the world of work…is something that people need to know how to do.”Officer in Charge of the Tamarind Hall Branch, Astrid Mayers

She stated: “Usually the library does summer programmes, but it is targeted towards children, five to 15. What I have noticed is that this branch, in particular, does not have a lot of juvenile patronage. But more importantly, I have found that a lot of people who come in to get their CVs printed, or they come in to do a CV, genuinely don’t know what to do.

Most outstanding participant, Erica Carrington, receiving a token from Senior Manager of Retail Banking at Republic Bank, Sandra Wallerson-Reifer

“After a few years of seeing that and just being like ‘this is not what this is supposed to look like’, I thought to myself, you know what? I have the freedom now that I am here at [Tamarind Hall], to have a programme and target it to who I want to target it to. So, I pivoted from the juveniles to the young adults.”

Ms. Mayers continued: “So, I thought ‘if they are doing CV’s what else would they need to know?’ So, I thought that I’d let them also figure out how to do interviews. When you go to an interview, from my experience, there’s always that question at the end where they ask if you have any questions? I always think, ‘what is this person talking about?’ So, I decided that I will also include that.”

The NLS branch officer noted that a chance conversation with one of the facilitators, Ms. Shirley Morris, unearthed additional elements that could be added to the programme.

“When I spoke to my facilitator, Ms. Shirley Morris, she told me about including soft skills, and we also know that financial literacy is a major talking point now. So, we reached out to the bank [Republic Bank] and asked them to have a chat with participants about opening their first bank account, using a credit card…. They were willing to come out and speak with us.”

Ms. Mayers said participants were enthusiastic to be a part of the programme and were grateful for the knowledge gained from the facilitators.

“I know that there are other governmental organisations that do something similar, but I feel like the library, in recent times, needs to pivot from just books and reading and studying, to educating the public. In other words, emphasis should be placed on more than just book learning but on life learning…. So, teaching people how to do a CV to enter the world of work…is something that people need to know how to do,” Ms. Mayers remarked.

She continued: “Libraries around the world have seen a fall-off in people coming in to read because it’s so much easier for you to get your information elsewhere. But at the same time, libraries all over the world are pivoting their services to meet those needs. So, if it is that you see that nobody’s coming in to read Hardy Boys books, stop buying the Hardy Boys books and give them something else that they want. So, it’s really a matter of seeing your patrons, knowing your patrons, meeting their needs, which is what we are trying to do with this programme, and any programmes going forward.”

The BGIS team was also present to see the role-play session of the programme. Senior Manager of Retail Banking at Republic Bank, Sandra Reifer-Wallerson, swapped roles with the eager participants, as she went through the process of opening a bank account.

She explained that the session was part of the bank’s Power to Make a Difference Outreach Programme, and was happy to partner with the Tamarind Hall Branch to prepare young school leavers for the world of work, understanding how to open a bank account and the responsibilities of having a bank account.

“We spoke about the documents required to open an account; when you have an account, the responsibilities of spending the money; how you fashion it out. What do you do? A portion of it would go to your rent, for example, some for groceries, maintenance, and medical. So, they covered all of that. We talked about KYC, or know your customer, and we covered a bit of money laundering as well.

“The session took the format where they would do most of the talking and they would do a role play. I found that role play is always handy to reinforce anything that you have learnt,” she explained.

Meanwhile,16-year-old Barbados Community College student, Erica Carrington, who was adjudged the most outstanding participant by her peers, was effusive in her praise of the programme. She said she would readily recommend it to others if it is offered next year.

“The programme gives you valuable information, yet it is not boring and drawn out… All of the sessions were useful, but the one that really stood out for me is the session on interviews, where the facilitator gave us all of the information on what and what not to do during an interview. At the end, we got the opportunity to act out a mock interview with the facilitator,” she shared.

Ms. Mayers is optimistic that the Pave Your Path Summer Programme can be added to the NLS’ list of activities going forward, pointing out “that knowledge is power”. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Officer in charge of the National Library Service’s Tamarind Hall Branch, Astrid Mayers (left) and Senior Manager of Retail Banking at Republic Bank, Sandra Reifer-Wallerson, sharing the moment with participants of the Pave Your Path Programme

Education

Culinary Arts Student ‘Cooks Up’ A Scholarship

A first-year Culinary Arts student at the Jean and Norma Holder Hospitality Institute (JNHHI) is the latest recipient of the Peter Barker Memorial Scholarship.

The $2,500 scholarship is given annually to students in the General Catering Certificate or Associate Degree in Culinary Arts programmes.

This year, 31-year-old Natasha Wilkinson was selected for the award. Natasha was inspired to pursue culinary arts after helping a man with health issues by cooking for him, which sparked her passion for the profession.

“This scholarship would help me. I would more than likely take the money and invest it into some kind of venture so it can give me a return as I continue to study rather than just spend it up,” Natasha said.

The scholarship was created by Dr. Nigel Barker, in memory of his late brother, Peter Barker, who passed away in 1995 while a student at the JNHHI.

Explaining the rationale behind its existence, Dr. Barker said he asked himself a few questions. He said: “I thought, how do I bring some value, he was 28 years old, to a life that was ended very short and I then decided I would add value to other people’s lives through his memory, so that’s how it came about.”

Acting Director at JNHHI, Lynette Francis-Thornhill, explained that the scholarship is based on financial need and a strong commitment to Culinary Arts.

She noted the number of applicants this year was lower than expected, with only two students vying for the award. Ms. Francis-Thornhill explained that students often hesitate to apply for scholarships due to concerns about financial disclosures and the potential requirement to repay funds if they do not complete their programme.

She emphasised, however, that scholarships like this one are crucial for supporting students, especially in fields like culinary arts, where additional costs like uniforms and equipment can add up.

“While education in Barbados is free at the point of delivery from nursery to tertiary, there are still costs associated with doing the programme. So, definitely it would be of assistance when they have these opportunities for persons to be able to get through their programmes more comfortably, which then provides a freeness of the mind and enables them to focus more on their studies and worry less about material concerns,” she stated. (PR/GIS)

Education

BAC Monitoring Impact Of AI On Higher Education

The Barbados Accreditation Council (BAC) is very closely monitoring the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) is having on higher education institutions (HEIs) in Barbados.

To this end, the Council has been conducting research into the impact of AI so far, and assessing the positive and negative factors and challenges it may present in the future. This relates to both external quality assurance agencies (EQAAs) like itself, and also for the local HEIs it recognises.

Research & Development Officer I with the Council, Jonre Waterman recently made a presentation on the topic: ‘Investigating The Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education In Barbados: The Opportunities for Innovation and the Implications for Academic Integrity’.

He made the presentation to delegates in attendance at the 20th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education (CANQATE).

The conference was hosted by the University Council of Jamaica and held at Pegasus Hotel in Kingston Jamaica under the theme: ‘Twenty Years of Promoting Quality in Higher Education: Development, Impact and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future’.

In his presentation, Mr. Waterman said while there are some noteworthy benefits that come with AI within higher education, from the institutional and academic perspective, the reality is that there are also some challenges for such institutions.

Among the key concerns, he says HEIs will have to ensure that students are not utilising the technology to give the impression that their breadth of knowledge is greater than it really is, whenever they are tasked with turning in reports or doing exams and papers.

“As it relates to the use of the AI-powered technologies…it’s not going anywhere. Global institutions will continue to incorporate AI-powered tools into their teaching and learning process. What this will do is advance the quality of the higher education process and HEIs that fail to address this run the risk of being left behind on the quality curve. This presents a challenge for EQAAs like the BAC as it seeks to assure and enhance the quality of the local higher education space,” he said.

“As it relates to the academic integrity concerns, the biggest fear is the ability of students to subvert the rigour of the academic process in favour of skipping straight to the finishing line and receiving qualifications and awards that do not speak to their actual level of knowledge and understanding.”

Mr. Waterman said a failure of HEIs to respond to this will create a scenario where the quality of the higher education process would be eroded.

He says the BAC has come up with some recommendations to help address its AI-related concerns. “These include conducting assessments to determine the capacity to incorporate emerging technologies such as AI that can improve the quality of educational offerings.

We understand that based on your size and scope, for some institutions there may not be any feasibility for AI-powered or any that would actually provide any significant improvements to your quality…but you can’t just say so without conducting that assessment. So, our recommendation is that you conduct that assessment; then you can determine whether there is any use to the institution, but it must be done first.”

He said another important recommendation is for higher education institutions to assess vulnerabilities of academic integrity to emerging technologies such as AI. He also noted an important recommendation that the Council itself undertake going forward: “Also, as the BAC, there exists scope for us to review our quality standards to ensure that they adequately call upon institutions to address and respond to technological advances.” (PR/GIS)

Education

ACTIVE TALK PANEL DISCUSSION

A look at learning deficits in early stages

The need for transformative changes in the region’s education systems, particularly to address learning deficits at early stages, was a key focus during the UNICEF Eastern Caribbean and Barbados National Students’ Council (BNSC) #ActivateTalk panel discussion. Held on recently at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, the event centered on the theme: “Navigating the Challenges of Higher Education in the Eastern Caribbean and the Importance of Regional Integration as a Viable Solution.”

Jean-Benoit Mahnes, UNICEF Representative (ad interim) for the Eastern Caribbean, highlighted troubling statistics about secondary education outcomes, noting that only a third of students across the region achieve the qualifications needed to advance academically.

“In the region, not just Barbados, too few students are achieving good enough results at the secondary level,” Mahnes said. “Additionally, the parameters of success can be too narrowly defined—it’s not only about becoming a lawyer or doctor. Society needs people with diverse skills and aspirations. We know that we need to do better, and we know we can do better.”

Mahnes also underscored the importance of democratising access to educational technology and fostering regional integration in education while maintaining respect for individual cultural identities.

“Can we access technology in a way that can be democratised? What role does educational integration and standardisation play? We want all children to have the same chance, whether they’re in Barbados, St. Lucia, or Grenada, while avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach. Culture, perspective, and environment must inform education systems,” he said.