Unique educational experience necessary

IN ORDER for Barbados to sustain and develop its educational sector, it must ensure that it provides a one-of-a-kind, enriching and promising experience, for both local and international students.

This was one of the messages that the Programme Officer, Trade Policy and Advocacy at the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI), Meshia Clarke, gave as she delivered remarks at the press launch for the Study Caribbean Summer Workshop Series, recently at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC).

Quoting from Senator, Dr. Stephen Boyce, during an address that he gave at the workshop entitled, “Education as an Economic Driver Workshop”, which was sponsored by the European Union (EU) under their Higher Education Strategy for Barbados initiative, and supported by the Human Resources Development Strategy (HRDS), she stated that he had emphasised that education is a global phenomenon worthy of garnering millions of dollars in revenue, thereby making a substantial contribution to the progress of this country.

He “made the point that, as a country, we can no longer just be content to sell education alone, in a global economy where countries are trying to out-compete and out-educate each other.

“Instead, it is necessary to market a unique educational, cultural, and developmental experience, for both local and foreign students.’”

Clarke said that it is in recognition of this fact that they launched the “Study Caribbean” initiative.

“The Study Caribbean Institute and the launch of the Summer Workshop Series, are meant to do just that. The BCSI has come on board as a partner of this project ,given the importance of education as a critical and stand alone service sector. The gains to be made from an Edu-Tourism sector are quite substantial, and the Study Caribbean Summer Workshop Series provides a platform for industry professionals and students to benefit from such programmes.”

Furthermore, the development of this sector is crucial to enhancing our global competitiveness, which this workshop series also sets out to accomplish, said the Trade Policy Programme Officer.

“Additionally, the development of a higher value added service sector, as a result of the advancements made through education, training and skills development, are fundamental building blocks to the development of an international, competitive, services sector and service-driven economy.

“As a partner in the Summer Workshop Series, the BCSI is now better positioned to provide industry-driven, short-term, development programmes, to many of our critical service sectors.”

The series is scheduled to start on the July 1, with a session on the hospitality industry, hosted by Professor and Programme Co-ordinator for the School of Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism, Humber College, Toronto, Canada, Ramesh Srinivasan.

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