Efforts to bring the Barbados Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDS) 2011-2016 closer to its goal ??? creating an effective, demand-driven HRD system ??? will be made this month, with the hosting of a five-day HRDS Action Planning Workshop.

HRDS Programme Coordinator in the Ministry of Labour, Maureen Pollard, explained in a recent interview with the Barbados Government Information Service that a working group had been assigned to each of the Strategy???s five pillars.

These groups, which comprise both public and private sector representatives, would then outline what steps must be taken to achieve the objectives set out in the pillars.

???We???ve appointed working groups for each pillar and the idea would be to look at the next two years in the Strategy and to be able to determine specific actions to be taken. Obviously, we???ll be looking at how the HRDS responds to some of what has been happening recently, both in terms of the economic recession and the need to retool,??? she said.

Noting that this endeavour was set to give a boost to the work to be completed under the HRDS, Ms. Pollard said that the purpose of the workshop will be to ???have a framework and encourage the working groups to have well structured, regular meetings??? which would lead to the project???s completion.

This, she said, would contribute to the creation of proposals which would ultimately achieve the Strategy???s pillars, namely: creation of an enabling environment for human resource development through institutional strengthening and capacity building; and the creation of an internationally recognised national qualifications framework.

Other aspects include the development of demand-driven professional development and training services; rationalisation of knowledge management systems and improved information access; and enhancement of research to improve innovation, entrepreneurship and development capacity.

Following the workshop, the Project Coordinator added, the working groups would continue the process.?????What we are doing in the workshops is giving them a project management framework. After that, it is expected that they will continue the exercise in the working groups. They will set milestones for 2014/2015 and 2015/2016,??? she said, adding that it was expected that ???participating ministries will contribute to the HRDS, so that it can be incorporated in the budget estimates.???

Ms. Pollard also stressed the media???s importance in sharing the HRD message with the public. ???Every Barbadian should buy into the HRD [concept and find out] what???s in it for you???we want everybody to start to think about how they can retool themselves,??? she said.

The implementation of the Barbados HRD Strategy officially began in January 2011, with the signing of a financing agreement between the Government of Barbados and the European Union.

nekaelia.hutchinson@barbados.gov.bb

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