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Dr. Karen Best, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations gave an overview of the Commonwealth of the Programme.

Workforce programme launched

COL,Coursera enter partnership to provide free online training courses

The unemployed and workforce seeking to enhance and retool during the COVID-19 environment, now have an opportunity to access free online training courses through a partnership between Coursera and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL).

The initiative was officially launched yesterday by the Commonwealth of Learning and the Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations at the Warrens Office Complex. An invitation was extended to the Government of Barbados through the ministry to collaborate with COL to launch the initiative which features four thousand (4 000) courses and four hundred (400) specializations offered by over two hundred (200) recognised and accredited international institutions.

Dr. Karen Best, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations, who was lauded for her hard work in bringing the launch to fruition, gave an overview of the courses available and highlighted some of the key areas offered.

“Courses can be selected from the Arts and Humanities, Business, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Technology, Health, Math and Logic, Personal Development, Physical Science and Engineering, Language and Learning and Social Studies,” outlined Best.

The permanent secretary said that the ministry understood that there would be challenges for some persons with accessing the internet and in some cases hardware to complete the courses. Best stated that the ministry was working with the  Barbados Workers Union to make the Frank Walcott Labour College available to those who wished to improve their skills and knowledge.

Professor Asha Singh Kanwar, President and CEO of the Commonwealth of Learning reiterated virtually yesterday that one of the casualties of COVID-19 has been the economy and therefore changes had to be made to adapt to the trying times.

“In partnership with Coursera, COL is committed to supporting 50,000 people around the Commonwealth to prepare for employment or entrepreneurship. Since the learners cannot go to the university, the university is coming to the learner and free of cost,” announced Kanwar.

She said that the pandemic highlighted the need for many of the citizens in the Commonwealth to be skilled and reskilled for livelihoods as a matter of priority. Kanwar added that the Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations has taken the lead in responding to their call by joining in the Coursera Workforce Recovery initiative.

“In addition to offering these online courses, COL is supporting the learners by establishing Help Desks in each country. This becomes necessary as there will be many first time online learners needing help with how to proceed,” said Kanwar.

The president expanded by saying that the aim of the help desks would be to provide academic, administrative and counselling support and one of those stations would be established in Barbados. She also contended that online learning was the future and the initiative allowed the people of the Commonwealth to become self-directed, lifelong learners.

The free courses on the Coursera site are self-taught and must be completed during the period of August 31st to December 31st, 2020. Participants, on completing the courses from the respective institutions, will be rewarded with certificates. The ministry is seeking to enroll approximately four thousand persons under the programme which can be accessed via their site, www.labour.gov.bb. Spaces are limited and people are encouraged to apply by today August 20th, 2020. (AS)

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