There was overwhelming response to the first call for proposals by employers and training providers to access the over US $6 million grant fund of the Competency Based Training Fund (CBTF).
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer with the CBTF???s Management Unit, Lisa Fenty disclosed this yesterday, as the CBTF awarded grants to the first successful partnerships at the headquarters of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Maxwell Main Road, Christ Church.
She said during the first cycle of the Fund a total of 33 proposals were received by the May 23rd deadline.
???Sixteen of these were deemed eligible and after careful evaluation by a specially selected and well-trained Committee, the CBTF awarded seven of these partnerships with the grant funds to aid the implementation of several outstanding training proposals.
???The winning proposals cut across multiple economic sectors including hospitality, creative and manufacturing. Successful implementation of these proposals will result in the development of 10 new occupational standards which will be added to the TVET council???s purview,??? explained Mrs. Fenty.
The M&E Officer added that over the course of the next two years, a total of 810 individuals would benefit from training and certification under these proposals.
The Competency-Based Training Fund falls under the Government of Barbados/IDB Skills For the Future Programme which aims to support Government???s Human Resource Development Strategy, with emphasis on improving the quality and relevance of secondary education and the effectiveness of the country???s technical vocational, education and training.
It requires employers and training Institutions to form partnerships to access the funds for primarily training persons employed in the particular organisation. The partnerships may be formed between an employer/employee association and local, regional or international training providers.
Together the employer and training provider must submit joint training proposals to the CBTF indicating, among other things, the type of training, funding that is required the assessment to be performed and the certification to be issued at the end of the training.
The second call for proposals will take place on Friday, August 15, with proposals to be submitted to the CBTF on Tuesday, September 30.??
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb