Twelve more awardees were presented with certificates to receive grant funding from the Competency-Based Training Fund (CBTF), during the official presentation ceremony on Monday at the Sea Breeze Hotel, Maxwell, Christ Church.

The partnerships named among this year???s awardees are the Nature Group Limited/A Nature Care Asymmetric Consulting Inc.; Rayside Construction Limited/Barbados Employers??? Confederation; Barbados Film and Video Association Inc./Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity; and Williams Industries Limited/the National Initiative for Service Excellence.

In her remarks, Minister of Labour, Social Security and Human Resource Development, Senator Dr. Esther Byer, expressed satisfaction with the progress being made through the awarding of training grants.

She said she was also pleased with the growth of the wider Skills for the Future Programme, of which the CBTF is a significant component. The programme is sponsored by the Barbados Government with loan funding from the Inter-American Development Bank.

The Labour Minister stated: ???Given the economic pressures and financial constraints that we face at present, it may be easy to overlook the quiet revolution that is taking place in our education and training system today. As with most revolutions, it is expected that our efforts will eventually change forever the way we do things. In this instance, it is via the education, training and skills certification of our country???s human resources.???

The event marked the second round of awardees that were presented with grant funding since the commencement of the CBTF in August 2014. According to Dr. Byer, with the continued roll-out of the CBTF project, over 2,000 workers will be trained, assessed and certified as competent against the relevant occupational standards, currently being developed by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Council.

The Minister also listed a number of sectors which have emerged through the implementation of the CBTF as, ???those sectors which have the potential to be significant contributors to the growth and strengthening of the Barbados economy, namely Film and Video, Construction, Alternative Energy, Entrepreneurial Development, Health and Wellness, Agriculture, and Financial Services???.

jamal.hall@barbados.gov.bb

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