Representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are due here from tomorrow to assess the progress of the Government of Barbados/IDB Skills for the Future programme being executed by the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation.
The Skills For The Future Programme, which was signed by the Government of Barbados in 2012, is funded by the IDB under a US $20 million loan agreement.
The November 16-21 mission will review the status of various components of the loan, particularly the status of the Competency-Based Training Fund (CBTF) and the possibility of a fourth cycle of partnership training.
The team, led by Education Lead Specialist, Dr. Sabine Reible-Aubourg and officials of the Ministry, will meet with several winning partnerships which would have gained funding from the CBTF since 2014.
Among these are partnerships formed with the Barbados Port Authority, the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, Williams Industries, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, Nature Care and The Productivity Council.
Government is also expected to sign an administrative agreement with the IDB for grant funding, provided by the United States Agency for International Development, for the A Ganar Program to sponsor three additional schools.
During their week-long visit the team will also meet with the Ministry of Labour, the Barbados Statistical Service, the Caribbean Examinations Council and the Caribbean Development Bank.
They are also expected to participate in the CBTF’s graduation ceremony on Wednesday and A Ganar’s on Saturday, at the Hilton Barbados Resort.