TVET Central To Developing Citizens’ Skills

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) has a central role to play in equipping Barbados’ citizens with “practical, future focused skills”.

Minister of Training and Tertiary Education, Sandra Husbands, emphasised this view yesterday, as she addressed the opening of the 37th Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA) General Meeting, at Accra Beach Hotel.

The two-day meeting is being hosted by the TVET Council (TVETC) Barbados, a founding member of CANTA.

Ms. Husbands stated that the Government of Barbados has reaffirmed its commitment to human capital development, workforce readiness and economic diversification, as it recognised that a skilled and adaptable workforce was foundational to national competitiveness and social stability. She noted that one of the key partners in this initiative will be the Barbadian diaspora.

She continued: “For indeed, if we’re looking for sources of new skills, if we’re looking for people who have experienced what global level functioning looks like, our diaspora provides a ready pool of persons that we need to identify, and draw into our work, so that they can [help] us to understand what are the global levels of quality, that would be needed for us to become competitive.”

Chair of CANTA, Dr. Kertney Thompson, concurred that a strong workforce was fundamental to securing the future of our nations. 

He added: “Empowering our workforce requires partnership between governments, training institutions, industry and regional and international organisations. It requires us to recognise that the challenges we face – such as care gaps, youth unemployment, technological disruption – are shared challenges, that demand collective efforts to find solutions.” 

The Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities – an association of National Training Agencies and other TVET apex bodies in CARICOM states – was established in November 2003. (PR/GIS)