BARBADOS CONTINUES to earn valuable foreign exchange from the external programmes offered by the Ministry of Labour.
Dr Leroy McClean, consul general to Toronto, said last week that the home savings component remitted BDS$1 067 228 to the Ministry of Labour in 2011.
In addition to the benefit to the country, McClean said the programme also ensured that there was a cache of savings for temporary workers to draw from on their return home to assist them until they travel overseas again on contract.
Declaring that Government must remain committed to ensuring the rejuvenation and prosperity of the programme, he said workers could in turn complement those efforts.
“Barbadian workers can ensure that they are continuously demanded by Canadian employers by demonstrating a positive work ethic, a healthy attitude, loyalty and hard work.
“Canadian employers have always expressed their satisfaction with these attributes as well as our ability to speak and understand English,” he said.
In the midst of all the positives, McClean spoke to some “disturbing” reports that people were being sent home because they did not want to work or performed poorly.
“I assure you that in these economic times and with the need to boost our numbers, one report of this kind is one too many.
“The Ministry of Labour will therefore be working even more assiduously to ensure that you, our Barbadian ambassadors, are fully prepared to ably take up the task of working on these external programmes and that you exhibit the right behaviours in your work, your working relationships and your interpersonal interactions.
“We will go back to the drawing board to re-examine the whole process, from how we recruit you [and] provide orientation to successful applicants, to how you are sensitized prior to departure and on completion of your contract,” he said. (YB)
