UWI Global Campus to accredit Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme training

Young entrepreneurs will soon have access to university-level certification, as the University of the West Indies (UWI) Global Campus has partnered with the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) to accredit its entrepreneurial development training programme.

The announcement was made at a formal signing ceremony on Friday at the Ministry of Youth offices in Sky Mall. The initiative will see the UWI Global Campus assess, review and align YES’s training content to meet university standards, with the ultimate goal of awarding a certified qualification to programme participants.

The principal of the UWI Global Campus, Dr Francis Severin, described the collaboration as “strategically aligned” to the university’s Triple A Strategic Plan 2022–2027.

He said: “Let me state unequivocally and in so doing assure you, that this partnership and project with your ministry, and more specifically with the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme, is strategically aligned to the UWI’s Triple A Strategic Plan 2022–2027, and our mission statement to advance learning, create knowledge, and foster innovation for the positive transformation of the Caribbean and the wider world.”

He emphasised that credentialling is not just a formality but is a rigorous, systematic approach to verifying qualifications, relevant training and certification that provide both academic and professional recognition.

“Credentialling is a systematic approach to the collection and verification of YES’s professional qualification,” Dr Severin said. “The qualifications that are reviewed and verified include but are not limited to relevant training, certification and/or registration, which enables one to practise in the entrepreneurship field and provides academic and professional standing.

“Credentialling plays an important role in the education, training and development fields, as it seeks to verify the quality of a programme, and acts as a necessary qualification for other jobs and other endeavours of professional pursuits.”

Minister of Youth Charles Griffith praised the development as long overdue and revealed that his ministry aimed to expand the YES framework to other regional partners.

He said: “I thought then it was a fantastic idea for us to move the programme from here in Barbados to the region, but I wanted a situation where we offered more than a certificate of participation. In my estimation, it was worth nothing. I instructed the manager of YES, Mr Mosley, to contact the campus to see how best we can work in partnership in terms of having the programme that is so impactful, certified for youngsters.

“Now that we have this in place, I want to say that we are now ready to move in the region. I know that we have done some checks, we have put out some feelers to see who in the region, in terms of youth departments, would be interested in having this programme go to them.”

Griffith also expressed excitement about the opportunity for young people, especially those from vulnerable communities, to walk away with a certificate bearing the UWI seal of approval.

“The fact that you have youngsters who in some cases are coming from what we call the blocks and being involved in the youth training, and to be able at some point in time on completing the programme, to say that I have a certificate that is a university-stamped certificate, would mean a lot,” he said.

(SB)