Byer-Suckoo speaks on jobs

MINISTER OF LABOUR DR ESTHER BYER-SUCKOO has painted a bleak picture of future employment opportunities for young people in Barbados.
She says with the growing number of qualified young people who cannot find work in their areas of speciality, technical and vocational careers are the only viable alternative.
Speaking yesterday at a media launch of the Technical and Vocational Education Training  (TVET)?Council’s WorldSkills Barbados Competition 2012 at the PomMarine Hotel, Suckoo said news of another pending global economic collapse filled her “with a sense of dread” for the future employment prospects for Barbados’ young people.
She therefore encouraged the promotion of opportunities in the technical and vocational fields as “viable alternatives” through which young people could make a living.
WorldSkills Barbados is based on a global “skills olympics” known as the Worldskills International Competition held every two years, in which young people from around the world compete and demonstrate their excellence in skilled professions.
Byer-Suckoo lauded the local initiatve by the TVET?Council, linking it to Government’s efforts to ensure that the island’s workforce had the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies to compete at the global level.
(GC)