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Director of Marketing of The Crane Resident Resort, Joanna Robinson, addressing participants and sponsors involved in the upcoming the WorldSkills Competition. (A. Gaskin/BGIS)

One of the winners of the upcoming WorldSkills Barbados Competition 2012 will be guaranteed a year-long internship at The Crane Residential Resort.

Director of Marketing of The Crane, Joanna Robinson, immediately received a resounding round applause when she made that announcement at the recently concluded Cocktail Reception for Sponsors of the three-day competition.

"The game has changed and our young workforce needs to be ready to meet the new challenges," Ms. Robinson said, "and we have made a commitment to provide as many students as possible with relevant and meaningful work experiences."

The WorldSkills Barbados Competition will see 30 students from the Barbados Community College (BCC), the Barbados Vocational Training Board (BVTB) and the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) compete in the areas of culinary arts, fashion technology, beauty therapy, automotive technology and hair dressing.??

It will be held on March 7 and 8, at the SJPP, Wildey, St. Michael, and on March 9 at the PomMarine Hotel, Hastings, Christ Church.??

Ms. Robinson noted that in order to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive environment, it was essential to secure the future of the young workforce.

Disclosing that the strategy of the WorldSkills Barbados Competition fitted perfectly with their staff development strategy, Ms. Robinson stressed that they had to compete with other resorts in Barbados and the region, and also with tough competitors in Asia, the South Pacific and beyond.

"We have seen that the level of skill, creativity and service in our youngest team members will determine our ability to continue to attract new and repeat guests and property owners now and 15 and 20 years from now," she said.

Last year, The Crane signed separate Memoranda of Understanding with the BVTB and the SJPP to provide those institutions with scholarships, internships and teaching faculty for their relevant programmes.

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Minister of Labour and Social Security, Dr.??Esther Byer Suckoo, with the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic’s finalists in the Hairdressing category of the WorldSkills Barbados Competition. (A. Gaskin/BGIS)

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, thanked The Crane for its "generous gift of a year’s internship", further stating that "private-public sector partnership is one that augurs well for the development of technical and vocational education and training in Barbados."????

She also praised other sponsors for their contribution, as well as the involvement of the technical and vocational training institutions that came on board.

shamkoe.pile@barbados.gov.bb

Author: Shamkoe Pil??

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