Minister of Labour, Senator Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo. (FP)
With a large number of graduates vying for similar posts within the Barbadian workforce, Minister of Labour, Senator Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, has stressed that good workplace values are key to standing out.
The Minister shared this advice with accounting students this morning, during the opening address at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados’ (ICAB) Student Conference Programme, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
Speaking under the theme: Barbados at 50 – Reaching Beyond this Horizon in commemoration of Accountants Week and Barbados’ 50th Anniversary Celebrations, Senator Byer Suckoo noted that employers were not just looking for academic qualifications, but those values that would “never diminish” within an organisation.
“In the Ministry of Labour, we have a programme called the G.I.V.E Programme and we take that programme out to workers in just about every sector. GIVE is the acronym for Great Attitude; Initiative; Values and Excellence…. Hold fast to these in the workplace and in your professional life…
“The worth of these values and the traits great attitude, initiative and excellence will never diminish. Instead, your worth will increase as you demonstrate these in the workplace and among colleagues even outside of the workplace,” she remarked.
While noting that ICAB already illustrates certain values such as integrity, objectivity, due care and competence, the Minister further encouraged the students to focus on lifelong learning and continuous self-development as a means of differentiation and advancement.
“Employers are looking for these, not just certificates and degrees… There are probably 20 of you vying for one post with this same professional designation. What they want from you are the values that say ‘I am an asset and I can actually bring some worth, not only in the performance of my duties as an accountant’,” she advised.
malissa.brathwaite@barbados.gov.bb