If Barbados is to successfully navigate the challenges of the global crisis then Government???s Human Resource Development (HRD) Strategy must be regarded as a catalyst for economic recovery.

This is the view of Minister of Labour, Social Security and Human Resource Development, Senator Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, who said a key component of the HRD strategy, was its focus on research, innovation and entrepreneurship, elements which Government believes have a role to play in this country???s development thrust.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the second cohort of the Caribbean Leadership Programme at the Cave Hill School of Business, University of the West Indies yesterday, she pointed out that it was Government???s intention to promote research, innovation and entrepreneurship as viable alternatives for prosperity at all levels of the society, including young people in secondary and post-secondary institutions.

???Our aim is to build a culture of self-reliance and creativity so that Barbadians can aspire to develop their own businesses, create their own inventions, develop new and innovative approaches to production, develop new products and services, thereby, contributing in a greater way in this country???s economic development.???

The Labour Minister underscored the importance of fostering an environment where Barbadians, through training and development, could become successful entrepreneurs.She pointed out that the public sector also had a critical role to play in this entrepreneurial drive.

???In our efforts to achieve this lofty objective, we have realised the need for greater sensitisation and training within our public service agencies. The fostering of an entrepreneurial culture calls for a new thinking and the creation of new policies, programmes and mechanisms within the public sector. We have recognised the need to strengthen our own internal leadership capacity??????, Dr. Byer Suckoo said.

The Caribbean Leadership Project (CLP) is a seven-year project funded by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development to support the leadership and economic development training needs of national public sectors in 12 CARICOM countries and key regional organisations.

andre.skeete@barbados.gov.bb

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