A Ganar, one of the major activities of Component Two of the Government of Barbados and the Inter-American Development Bank Skills for the Future Program will be officially launched on Thursday, June 6, at the 3Ws Oval, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.

The event starts at 10:00 a.m. and will be addressed by Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Senator Harry Husbands.?? A Ganar Barbados is currently in the "pre-pilot" phase, which is being funded by the Multilateral Investment Fund. The pre-pilot is projected to train approximately 100 youth through an after-school supplement that consists of 50 to 60 hours of employability skills training.??

Half of the youth are fifth formers, ages 15 to 17 who are in the lower streams at two secondary schools – Parkinson Memorial Secondary School and St. Leonard’s Boys’ Secondary School. The other half is from two post-secondary institutions namely

the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) and the Barbados Vocational Training Board (BVTB).????

At the two secondary schools, A Ganar targets youth who are performing at a low level.?? While it is being implemented as an entry program to SJPP, its focus at the BVTB is on the Plumbing and Computer Applications groups.????

The Barbados pilot represents a new area for A Ganar.???? Some of the programs will have traditional youth employment goals, while others, mainly those implemented through the secondary schools, are intended to keeping youth in school and improve their skills.??

A Ganar will also seek to strengthen collaboration and cooperation between the Barbados Government and the private sector in matters related to job training.?? It is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation and the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Human Resource Development. The Current Coordinating Organisation is the National Initiative for Service Excellence and the Country Coordinator, Ytannia Wiggins.

The Washington-based Partners of Americas has provided Coordinator, Brooke Rosenbaue, as a facilitator.

joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb

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