The technical and vocational education system is set for a new phase as the government seeks to learn lessons from this year’s WorldSkills Shanghai about the international standards, equipment and training methods needed to make young Barbadians globally competitive.
This was revealed by officials ahead of their trip to China at the Grantley Adams International Airport on Sunday.
The WorldSkills trip will bring Barbados’ technological and vocational training arena into “a new phase”, Minister of Technological and Vocational Training Sandra Husbands told reporters.
“WorldSkills allows Barbadian students to be able to prepare and compete with the world’s best. Now, why is this important at this time? In order for our economy to grow, Barbados has to be able to attract investment. That investment calls for specific types of skills, but it must be at a global level. We also want to build enterprises that can compete internationally.”
The delegation will use the experience to assess what Barbados needs to improve its technical and vocational training programmes, Husbands said.
“We have to be able to train the people of Barbados in the technological and vocational skills that will arm them with the ability to be competitive, to be able to gain in business, and to be able to grow and prosper,” she said.
The delegation will also examine the equipment and approaches needed to improve training, she added.
“And so at WorldSkills we not only get a chance to see what the world is doing and of course compare what we are doing, but by being able to take some of the principals who have responsibility for the technological and vocational training here in Barbados, we are ensuring that they can see exactly what is needed, the type of equipment that will be required, the new approaches that we would need to train our young people, what do we need to do in relation to our facilitators, so our facilitators can ensure that our young people get the best quality technological innovation.”
Husbands said the experience could mark a “turning point for how we go about offering technical training to our young people”.
She also pointed to the lack of opportunities available to young people when the economy and businesses were struggling, saying some passed through school without acquiring technical skills.
The objective now is to equip young people with skills that can translate into better employment opportunities and earnings, she said.
“What we want to be able to do is to ensure that they have the types of skills that they can command the type of wages, the type of salaries that will allow them to do for their families everything that they dream of.”
Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology Principal Ian Drakes said he was particularly interested in using the trip to identify potential partnerships and modern equipment for the institution.
Drakes, who has previously sent students to WorldSkills, said this would be his first time attending the competition as an observer.
“This is what we call the Olympics of technical education, and this is where our young people get to see the highest international standards. I’m also looking forward to collaborations because there should be manufacturers…and tools and stuff like that. So I’m looking to have those kind of partnerships, not only technical education, but equipment, state-of-the-art equipment for welding and so on.”
Barbados Community College Principal Annette Alleyne said the college has also benefited from its involvement in the WorldSkills programme.
“We’ve been privileged to have a number of students involved in the WorldSkills Programme, but right now, because of the leadership at the TVET Council and the competition, we have seen an improved level of performance of the participants at the WorldSkills Programme.”
According to Husbands, the government’s wider objective is for Barbadian qualifications to be recognised internationally.
“What we want to be able to do is to be able to move to a higher level that our people can go to any part of the world and offer their certification and know that it is accepted.”
(LG)
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