Following the administrative review currently in progress by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a decision on a fourth cycle of the Competency-Based Training Fund (CBTF) is expected to be made.
This was disclosed recently by Manager of the CBTF, Anderson Lowe, as he spoke to the media at the headquarters of the Inter-American Institute on Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), at Baobab Tower, Warrens, St. Michael.
???We believe that there is still some demand from firms who, for various reasons, were not previously selected for funding and we expect applications from these sources.
“The Fund is always on the lookout for new areas to support and to this end, we will be working to encourage applications from the Oil and Gas industry, which is about to be developed,??? he said.
He also noted that the CBTF was also looking forward to working with the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation, public TVET institutions and small businesses, particularly in the manufacturing sector, that can benefit from competency- based programmes but are unable to submit proposals on their own.
???Our focus will be away from mega-proposals to smaller and more manageable training programmes for not more than say 60 to 80 persons. Of course, all applications from all sectors will still be eligible and will still be considered for a fourth cycle,??? the CBTF manager stressed.
Mr. Lowe explained that funding for programmes was awarded on a competitive basis and only those proposals achieving the highest scores would be selected for funding.
???The number of proposals to be selected is subject to a minimum level of quality in the first instance and the level of funding that will be made available, should there be a fourth cycle,??? he stated.
CBTF is an initiative designed to better equip Barbadian workers with the skills and competencies needed to excel in a rapidly changing world. It requires employers and training Institutions to form partnerships to access the funds for primarily training persons employed in the particular organisation.??These partnerships may be formed between an employer/employee association and local, regional or international training providers.
The employer and training provider must submit joint training proposals to the CBTF indicating, among other things, the type of training; the funding required; the assessment to be performed; and the certification to be issued at the end of the training.
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb