SPANISH CRUCIAL

ONE government minister is of the view that all school-leavers should have a working knowledge of Spanish.

 

That is according to Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo, while adding that “as Barbados looks to our Latin American neighbours, and I dare say, as they look toward the Caribbean, to tap into the potential for trade and tourism, fluency in Spanish is paramount”.

 

She pointed out that, “The time has come for every student in every school in Barbados to have a working knowledge of Spanish. Everyone should leave school with a knowledge of Spanish, but in the business, in the private and public sectors, adults too who have already left school need to develop this skill.”

 

Dr. Byer-Suckoo further said that as emphasis is placed locally on lifelong learning, being knowledgeable in “Spanish and Information Technology should be at the top of the list for all of us, especially those of us who weren’t exposed to this at school”.

 

The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade spoke at Friday’s graduation ceremony for the second Spanish Language Programme for Barbados Public Servants. The event was held at the Horatio Cooke Auditorium, National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) headquarters. The training course is an initiative of the Government of Colombia, in collaboration with the Universidad Externado de Colombia.