Photo courtesy H. Reece/TVET Council.
Executive Director of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council, Henderson Eastmond, has encouraged young people to showcase their skills to the world in competitions such as WorldSkills.
He expressed this view recently during a media briefing at the Council’s Hastings, Christ Church location, while announcing the team which will be representing Barbados at the upcoming competition.
Mr. Eastmond added: “It is important for us to expose our skills to world-class events on the world’s stage where you have so many countries participating. When you go there, you will see the level that [the competitors are at]. [At the end of the experience] both the competitors and the experts will be able to bring back something to the institution.”
The TVET Executive Director also said the Council was aggressively trying to encourage institutions such as the Barbados Community College and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic to raise the standard of their training programmes by offering higher level technical qualifications, at least to the degree level.
“We think that almost after 50 years of Independence we should be there…in fact, we need to move [to this level] if we are to be competitive as a nation. It means that…we have to put our people in position so that we can reduce the island’s BDS$800 million food bill…,” he underlined.
The competitors who will be representing Barbados at WorldSkills: (from left to right) Takiya Jordan; Akeil Craig-Browne; Roshida Griffith; and Tinisha Hall. (TVET Council)
The competitors who will be representing Barbados in Abu Dhabi are: Roshida Griffith, Garment; Takiya Jordan, Hairdressing; Akeil Craig-Browne, Automotive; and Tinisha Hall, Culinary.
The team will be led by the Executive Director of TVET, Henderson Eastmond. He will be accompanied by Technical Delegate, Dario Holder and Team leader, Wendy McClean. The experts also journeying to Abu Dhabi are Lisa Holder, Garment; Wendy Bishop, Hairdressing; Wayne Maycock, Automotive; and Steve Phillips, Culinary.
During the event, there will also be a Youth Forum, and the representatives selected were Keaanndra Marshall and Akel Bailey.