Sen. Arni Walters

Minister of State with responsibility for Labour, Senator Arni Walters, has been offering some advice as to how local employers can survive the current global economic slowdown. According to him, employers should not seek to cut back on training opportunities, but continue to re-tool their staff to meet the challenges of “tough economic times”.

Speaking during a Barbados Vocational Training Board (BVTB) seminar for employers of the Apprenticeship Programme at the Accra Beach Hotel today, he noted that while the temptation was to cut back on spending in a recession, employers should not sacrifice their workers or training opportunities.

“I urge you the employers to avoid this trap…The companies that engage such skilled and trained craftsmen will definitely have the advantage to recover more quickly at the end of a recession… The quality of a workforce is usually a strong determinant of how long a company will be affected by a recession,” Senator Walters pointed out.

He called on employers to work in tandem with the Barbados Vocational Training Board to create more apprenticeship programmes.

The Labour Minister said he believed that sustaining a highly skilled workforce would make the difference between Barbados experiencing the full effects of the global slowdown or being able to manage the economic crisis successfully.

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