Innovative strategies needed to strengthen services sector

The Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) is committed to
advancing the services sector in Barbados, but wants to see more
innovative strategies coming to the fore.

Jamal Slocombe, Board Secretary with the BCSI, acknowledged the above
during a virtual press conference held recently by the Coalition, to
discuss the findings of its “Impact Study of the COVID-19 Pandemic on
the Barbadian Services Sector”.

“The BCSI reaffirms its position due to COVID-19 to really take
forward the services sector in the country. We have recognised that an
already struggling services sector in the Barbadian market will now
have to reposition itself to really strengthen our organisations.

“The BCSI has about 50 member associations and when we look at the
data, it presents about 70 000 Barbadians, just around there, that
would be members of the services sector in Barbados, and that is
according to some of the data that we would have previously had,”
Slocombe pointed out.

He added, “The BCSI is a small organisation. Our staff complement is
about four or five members …and we really with limited resources are
doing an extremely great job. I must commend the Secretariat for
really trying to move forward the services sector in Barbados in order to strengthen
our organisations, our members and not only that, the Barbadian
economy at large.

“With COVID-19 unexpectedly coming to our shores – it’s a global
pandemic – we would have seen a crippling of the global economy, and
what we are forced to do now is to find innovative ways as Barbadians,
from a policy perspective, so that the Secretariat can execute now, so
that we can strengthen our services sector, because there are several
organisations, several niche markets within the services sector in
Barbados,” he maintained.

Slocombe meanwhile noted that the BCSI Board just made the approval
for a High Level Advisory Committee for the services industry in
Barbados and a diverse group of industry professionals will be working
with the BCSI to see how they can best take the local services
industry forward.
(RSM)