EDITORIAL

A key aspect of Barbados’ Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDS) is that of building the competence of the local workforce.

 

As a local Human Resource Development Specialist (HRD) noted, “Research has shown that a competent workforce increases productivity, which by extension increases economic development and social development in the country”. It stands to reason then, that in order to push this country to another level, we must build the workforce competence of our people and we must continue to guard those competencies.

 

It has been hinted to as well that competencies that worked well for the 1990s, will not work well in the year 2017, so there needs to be a constant upgrade of these competencies. And when we speak of competencies, we refer to the group of skills or attributes that employees need to carry out their work effectively. Key emphasis is therefore being placed on ensuring that workers build “career security”, rather than “job security”. This HR strategy is premised on the notion that we have to move away from the idea of workers doing one set of tasks in a particular area for an eternity, to one which sees workers being able to utilise a set of cross-functional skills, that they can move laterally across the workplace or even use their skills at a regional or global level. By building workers’ competencies, it gives them greater flexibility and versatility. The case of only one worker being able to do a set job as we often times see in some cases would be reduced and productivity increased, as other workers can fill in, when that key person is absent.

 

Speaking of productivity, which as was stated can be increased as workforce competencies are better built, the Productivity Council has been doing its part to have a national productivity awareness campaign, to ensure that Barbadians in general understand and appreciate the need to raise productivity levels in general and do their part to correct some of the productivity issues that currently exist. 

 

That said, The National Year of Productivity is being observed from January 2017. Prime Minister The Rt. Hon. Freundel Stuart, having been named the National Productivity Champion for the Year of Productivity, has however placed on record his concern that Barbadians are not relating to the issue of productivity with as much seriousness as is required. He has suggested that productivity must not simply be a goal, but it must become a way of life, as the society sets high standards for itself.

 

Now we cannot have this discussion without placing great focus on educational attainment and the enhancement of workforce skills, in the drive to build employees’ competencies. Perhaps workers who see the need to enhance their competencies and skill sets via on the job training or otherwise, will also set their sights on raising their productivity levels as they are already driven to excel and are not just content to “fill a spot” and receive pay for doing so.

 

It must be said, however, that whilst the strengthening of Barbados’ workforce will come via the Human Resource Development Strategy and those pushing various employer-driven training programmes, the onus also falls on employees as well to do what they can to raise their level of competence in the workplace and added to that as well, their level of productivity.