Two Barbados Water Authority (BWA) employees were among a group of distinguished Caribbean water operators to receive their ‘Professional Operator’ designation and certification during the 7th Caribbean Water Operators Conference.
Anderson Bowen and Nichole Austin were both presented with their official designation pins and certificates during a Networking Reception and Pinning Ceremony, held during the conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
Those receiving the Professional Operator designation and certification were Ezikel Francis and Shannon Vidal of the Dominica Water and Sewerage Company Limited; Denver Duplessis of the Water and Sewerage Company, St. Lucia, and Timothy Augustus, Everis Gonzales, and Gary Pilgrim of the Water and Sewerage Authority, Trinidad and Tobago.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Works and Water Resources, Santia Bradshaw, praised the eight utility officers for achieving the designation of “Professional Operator” through Water Professionals International (WPI) and encouraged water operators to prioritise continuous training and skills development.
“The Professional Operator designation, offered in water treatment, water distribution, wastewater treatment, and wastewater collection, sets global standards and testing criteria that reflect the industry’s best practices and protocols. You have demonstrated your commitment to excellence in your field. Congratulations on this remarkable achievement,” she said.
Calling on regional water utilities to foster consistent cooperation amongst themselves, Minister Bradshaw added: “Regardless of size and progress, the region must ensure that there is continuous development and strengthening of skills and abilities. Our human resources must become instinctive, innovative, and quick thinking. Our processes must be strengthened to make us more adaptable within the industry. We are in a fast-paced era where many things are fast-changing.”
Minister Bradshaw also thanked CAWASA for its dedication to training and providing “technological transfer” to officers of all levels within regional water utilities.
Executive Director of CAWASA, Ignatius Jean, noted one of the core functions of CAWASA is to provide training to its membership of 12 regional utility organisations. He said CAWASA had partnered with WPI for almost two decades to provide certification courses for operators.
“Our people must focus on continuing education and building the capacity of the people within the water sector so that we have efficient delivery of water and wastewater services. Water operators are a key part of the water and sewerage sector; we need your skills, thinking, and innovation to continue building a resilient water and sewage sector,” he said, while congratulating the officers.
Chief Executive Officer of WPI, Paul Bishop, presented the successful water operators with their pins and certificates. The three-day conference was organised by CAWASA and the BWA, under the theme Operators: Pillars of Recovery and Resilience.