EDITORIAL: NTI a great opportunity
Recently, there has been a lot of social media promotion about the National Transformation Initiative (NTI) and its new programmes to help members of the public obtain growth and development. Many Barbadians are not aware of the NTI or its purpose, and therefore this media campaign is well timed and necessary to ensure that as many residents as possible are able to utilise their programmes.
The initiative started as part of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation plan, commonly referred to as BERT, which provided a structure for islandwide changes in order to meet certain goals which would satisfy the International Monetary Fund that Barbados is on track to repay its debts and remain a stable and sustainable economy. The initiative was also supposed to assist persons who are having difficulty rebounding from lay-offs and job loss caused due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It therefore aims to give Barbadians more knowledge by allowing them to have the opportunity to retrain and retool themselves. There is also a hope that the programmes provided by the initiative will make Barbadians who take part more suitable for job opportunities regionally and internationally.
In this country, our citizens are one of our most important resources, and therefore our leadership has made a sound decision to continue to develop on our legacy of free and low cost education by providing further training opportunities for our people.
In a radio interview Alex Jordan, a transformation activist on behalf of the NTI, and regional journalist, explained that the programmes that were being provided would give Barbadians the opportunity to focus their minds at this tumultuous time, which is essential to creating new routines and bringing a sense of stability to life. They also utilise the talents of other popular local personalities such as the creative Seth Bovell to spread the word about the opportunities provided by the NTI.
One of the initiative’s intentions was to provide training in new and interesting areas to motivate Barbadians to learn more. This is absolutely necessary, especially for some younger Barbadians who seem to have difficulty developing internal motivation when it comes to traditional areas of study like mathematics and English.
The initiative also does work with hospitality workers under the Barbados Employment and Sustainable Transformation (BEST) programme. This is a chance for persons in the sector, who remain unemployed or are working shorter hours because of the decline in tourism activity, to use their time to be productive. Their website provides information about new courses such as Beginners’ Sign Language and Introduction to Coding, both of which could be useful to build the resume of individuals in almost any field.
There are also courses on Occupational Health and Safety and Entrepreneurship which are more targeted. Finally, there is the wonderful opportunity for Barbadians to do Coursera courses in many fields free of cost by signing up through the NTI’s website.
We are impressed with the decision of the Government to provide these free opportunities for citizens to develop themselves. Many persons would like to do additional studies but are unable to afford the cost of studies at institutions. This option levels the playing field, giving each person a chance to excel. If you find yourself with an abundance of free time, you can look into signing up for a course today.