The Barbados Postal Service, in collaboration with the Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Bureau, is currently hosting a regional training workshop for TrainPost Tutors.
During the opening of the workshop, which was held this morning at the General Post Office, acting Postmaster General, Joann Busby, noted that training was aimed at capacity building of staff within the sector across the region.
She pointed out that in the postal sector, the most important resource is staff and given the challenges in the global postal sector, capacity building remains an important focal point.
“It is our knowledge of the many facets of our sector that will help to differentiate our posts from other competitors…. We know the playing field is not level when it comes to messenger and postal services within the region. So, it is very important for us to encourage our staff to use platforms such as TrainPost to help us build our skills in areas such as postal security, addressing systems and disaster risk management, to name a few,” Ms. Busby stated.
The Postmaster General encouraged participants to take full advantage of the week-long training and expressed the hope that at the end of the sessions, participants would be better equipped to encourage their colleagues to take advantage of the platform to build their personal and professional development.
Universal Postal Union, Regional Expert, Caribbean and Capacity Building, Pooran Parampath, highlighted that this workshop was the second in a series of global workshops that the UPU has planned. The first one was held in Tunisia, and more training is expected to occur next year in French and English speaking African countries, Latin America, Asia, the Pacific and Europe.
Mr. Parampath reiterated that capacity building and training were important for the sector and were part of the UPU’s thrust to assist in developing human resource capacity.
He added that the genesis of the workshop was to offer support to all regions so that staff could participate in courses that would not only benefit the organisation but themselves as well.
He described the workshop as being, “very technical. It will be very in-depth, so we urge you to ask as many questions as you have to, and network with your fellow participants because these are people who you may be liaising with in future”.
UPU Regional Field Expert, Craig Brathwaite, also encouraged participants to actively participate and take advantage of the training being offered.
He said UPU was counting on those receiving training to lead in the promotion and advancement of the TrainPost courses and platform within their respective designated operator and across the Caribbean.
“It is my hope that you fully absorb the content of this practical Caribbean Regional TrainPost Tutors workshop so that you may be able to strengthen your capabilities to offer support to your colleagues in your respective Designated Operator,” he said.
Mr. Brathwaite emphasised that the workshop will focus on the TrainPost methodology and distance-learning technologies provided on the new platform www.upu-trainpost.com, specifically on the tutor space, with a view to assisting online learners from initial registration to final course completion.
The course outline will consist of presentations, demonstrations and online practical work, and will promote active participation and interaction. Mr. Parampath and Facilitator at Universal Postal Union, Walid Ben Said, will conduct the training sessions.