Graduates ready for Barbados’ reopening to tourism

The head of a local business education institution has challenged tourism workers to be adaptable, resilient, and prepared. Dr. Sonia Greenidge-Franklyn, principal of Barbados Management and Productivity (BIMAP), was at the time honouring the first graduating class of tourism workers, in partnership with the National Transformation Initiative (NTI).

The training is part of Government’s Barbados Employment and Sustainable Transformation (BEST) programme for the tourism sector.

Fifty-two hospitality workers, drawn from destination management, ground handling, retail, and hospitality and entertainment, were graduating from studies in Supervisory Management, Management of Human Resources, and the Principles of Labour and Administrative Law.

Citing Deloitte Canada’s tracking of consumer spending during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Greenidge-Franklyn highlighted downturns as much as 50 per cent in travel and recreation, and a 20 per cent drop in discretionary spending in the Canadian market, one of Barbados’ traditional visitor source markets. She therefore noted: “You have to demand even higher standards from those you manage [and] supervise.

“Given the extraordinary episode that we are all still going through, it is compulsory for all of us to adapt. Now is the time for you to demonstrate your capacity to adjust to the realities of the market and to integrate your new knowledge and your new skills to improve your workplaces.” All this, she stressed, in a climate marked by changed consumer behaviour in which customers have new and higher service demands and expectations, and are more discerning in their spending.

In her remarks, NTI director, Dr. Allyson Leacock highlighted that “the dual disruptions of digitalisation and COVID-19 have created tremendous opportunities” not just in the 149 million digital jobs anticipated globally by 2025, but in people-centred jobs arising from digitalisation.

She said: “What is reassuring though, and very relevant to all of you, is that digitisation is also driving the emergence of people-centred occupations, and all of the skills that go with that, they reflect some of the creative and social tasks that are less susceptible to automation. So, that is very reassuring. In fact, the essential skills of the future are both digital and human.”

Notwithstanding roughly 42 million global jobs projected across software development, cloud computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence, and cyber security, privacy and trust, Dr. Leacock revealed that 3.3 billion jobs would require
human skills.

“Those human skills are what you will need for all three of these disciplines that you studied at BIMAP under this BEST training programme. They include communication and collaboration, critical and creative thinking, sense-making and storytelling, learning and adaptability and agile leadership and resilience.”

One graduate, Anna-Lee Pope, group office manager at Sunlinc, was grateful for the training and to expand her knowledge. So, too, Natalie George, human resources manager at Caribbean Airways, having attended courses alongside 24 members of her team.

“On behalf of the Caribbean Airways Limited, and Caribbean Aircraft Handling Co. Limited, we want to express heartfelt thanks to Dr. Allyson Leacock and her team at the NTI for partnering with BIMAP and affording our staff the opportunity to enroll in [the three courses]. The staff were very excited and enthusiastic upon hearing that they would be chosen to undergo the courses of study.”

Outstanding graduates were Janice Hinds and Orville Lovell (Management of Human Resources); Nicole King and Janise Branch (Principles of Labour and Administrative Law), and Shawana Cumberbatch and Ruth Ann Singh in Supervisory Management.

Harlequin Restaurant staff graduate

Meanwhile, Harlequin Restaurant teams, including managing director, Keith Bowyer, attended their virtual graduation from The Art of Service course, facilitated face-to-face by May Hinds Consulting Inc.

Thanking the Barbados government, Bowyer said: “This [BEST] initiative has been lifesaving for us. We’ve been scrambling around just trying to keep this thing going until the people come back.” He lauded the training as a good bridge ahead of an eventual return to “the very busy time that people will come back to Barbados”. He participated in and graduated from the course alongside his staff, including general manager, Wilson McIntosh, head chef, Anthony McIntosh, and STARR performer, Shade Pilgrim.

Congratulating the restaurant on its 20th anniversary year, NTI director Dr. Allyson Leacock challenged graduates while encouraging them to embrace The Art of Service by: taking pride in themselves and their work, recognising their own uniqueness and that of each guest, whether Barbadian or visitor, and stepping beyond their comfort zones to achieve personal and professional growth.

In response, and echoing his colleagues’ gratitude, graduate Shaquan Leon-McIntosh, spoke of learning “to be confident and to communicate better”. Course facilitator May Hinds concluded the ceremony. She noted that not only had Harlequin team explored an overview of Barbados’ tourism industry throughout the three-week programme, they also addressed service quality standards, revisited company structure, and implemented learnings in real time. (PR)