Employers and training providers desirous of applying for funding from the Competency Based Training Fund (CBTF) should ready themselves for the second Call for Proposals, which will be made by the middle of this month.

Funds will be made available for partnerships to develop and provide training programmes based on occupational standards, aimed at improving the skills of Barbadian workers ??? employed, whether full or part-time, or unemployed.

The CBTF falls under the Government of Barbados/IDB Skills For the Future Programme, which aims to support Government???s Human Resource Development Strategy. The Fund places special emphasis on improving the quality and relevance of secondary education and the effectiveness of the country???s technical vocational, education and training.

As such, 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 that is required; the assessment to be performed; and the certification to be issued at the end of the training.

The first Call for Proposals, which ran from April 11 to May 23, was met by overwhelming response from the public, with a total of 33 proposals submitted to the CBTF.

And, last month, seven winning partnerships formed to take advantage of the first disbursement of the over US$6 million grant fund of the CBTF, were announced at the headquarters of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Maxwell Main Road, Christ Church.

They were: Intimate Hotels/Career Development Institute; Guardian General Insurance/BIMAP; Barbados Port Inc./Caribbean Maritime Institute; West Toonz Inc./BIMAP; AC Manufacturing/Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic; Barbados Youth Business Trust/CILC Action Coach and The Potter Centre/Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association.

The second Call for Proposals begins August 15 and ends on September 30. Full details on the eligibility and evaluation criteria, how to access technical assistance as well as proposal templates, are available online at: www.cbtf.com.bb/Applicants or by calling 227-9090.

joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb

webbgis@barbados.gov.bb

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