New national network to offer career guidance, job access

The Ministry of Labour on Friday launched a first‑of‑its‑kind national career guidance network, seeking to transform how citizens plan their working lives and connect education, training and employment. Officials described the National Career Advisory Network (NCAN) as a cornerstone in the country’s push for “decent work” and lifelong skills development.

The launch at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre drew representatives from several government departments, educators, guidance counsellors, third‑sector organisations, private‑sector stakeholders and the media.

Programme manager in the labour ministry, Erika Watson, said the launch marked the culmination of more than a decade of groundwork, stressing that career planning was no longer optional in a rapidly changing labour market.

“The International Labour Organisation emphasises that lifelong skills development and career guidance are key to effective career transitions and higher labour‑market participation,” she said. “In Barbados, we recognise that career planning directly affects not only employment but also psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction.”

Watson explained that the ministry had spent years building capacity through partnerships with schools, counsellors and community organisations, reaching thousands of students through national career showcases held with the Barbados Association of Guidance Counsellors.

“Today we build on those collaborations to create a collective community of practice,” she told the audience. “Whatever the name, the spirit of this initiative is cooperation for progress — working together to help Barbadians realise their full potential.”

NCAN would operate as a professional network in which trained advisers and practitioners could exchange information, share best practice and partner on outreach, she said. 

The network, described as a partnership with American workforce development consulting firm Kuder Inc, will also promote Kuder’s Atlas career‑planning system among its digital tools.

“Our objective today is to establish the National Career Advisory Network, open registration for membership and outline our plans for annual outreach across the island,” Watson said. “By the end of this year, we aim to have a fully operational public awareness campaign that will sensitise every citizen to the benefits of career development.”

Programme officer Sherwin Ellis, of the People Development Implementation and Monitoring Unit (PDIMU), welcomed participants and underscored the ministry’s focus on practical implementation. He noted that NCAN complemented existing initiatives such as Job Start Plus, which had already introduced hundreds of Barbadians to career‑planning and digital assessment tools.

Delivering the feature address, deputy permanent secretary Faye Prescod called NCAN a “game‑changer” for Barbados’s education and employment ecosystem, linking career guidance directly to the ministry’s decent‑work agenda.

“Decent work means helping people find jobs that are productive and that reward their efforts with a fair income,” she said. “It’s about ensuring our people are never treated as mere cogs in a machine.”

Prescod outlined the four pillars of decent work — freedom, equity, security and dignity — positioning career counselling as the mechanism that translates those principles into lived experience.

“Career counselling is the roadmap that turns this mission into personal reality for every individual,” she said. “It’s more than just fixing a CV. It’s about freedom — giving you the clarity to choose work you enjoy — and equity, by ensuring everyone gets the same professional support to succeed.”

She argued that the launch was timely as Barbados navigates post‑pandemic recovery, digital transformation and the pressures of climate change.

“Career guidance can no longer be a school extra,” Prescod said. “We must weave it into every stage of life, from primary school to retirement. By doing so, we don’t just fill vacancies — we build a resilient, empowered nation.”

According to Prescod, NCAN builds on years of incremental work — from training counsellors in modern assessment tools to developing a Level 3 Caribbean Vocational Qualification in career guidance with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Council, and partnering with Kuder Inc to certify community‑based advisers.

“Today we have about 45 certified career advisers, strengthening our national capacity to help people plan their futures,” she said. “With NCAN, we are scaling up that impact even further.”

The network is intended to fill key gaps in the career‑guidance landscape: limited access outside school settings, uneven practitioner capacity and insufficient support for trained advisers once pilot programmes end. Watson noted that many unemployed or underemployed Barbadians felt discouraged because they “don’t know where to go” in a shifting labour market.

NCAN will also serve as a hub for sharing labour‑market data produced by the ministry, keeping advice grounded in current and emerging employment trends. Prescod said this information would be shared through workshops, online platforms and community outreach.

The ministry said NCAN’s ultimate beneficiaries would include jobseekers, school‑leavers, students, parents, unemployed and underemployed persons, and workers in transition. While membership is reserved for trained advisers, the services delivered through outreach and digital tools will be open to the wider public.

Public access will be phased in, beginning with registration of advisers and practitioners, followed by island‑wide outreach events and a national awareness campaign planned for later this year. The ministry has committed to staging at least four community career events annually — one in each major geographic zone — using community centres and schools as venues.

NCAN’s impact will be measured through increased engagement with career planning, expanded use of assessment tools, stronger counselling services and better alignment between skills training and labour‑market demand. The ministry also plans to track employment transitions, productivity gains and user feedback.

Prescod reminded attendees that the initiative’s success rested on collective effort.

“By pooling our resources and expertise, we can ensure every Barbadian accesses the support they need for an evolving world of work,” she said. “Together, we can achieve more.”