Barbados is a small country with a high population density that, on average, welcomes more than twice its permanent population in visitors yearly. Tourism is Barbados’ biggest employer, and yet it has often been reported that skills gaps exist that require more investment in vocational education. Here is more information about vocational education training centers in Barbados.

Barbados’ History

After Spanish colonizers forced the native population of Barbados to flee in the 16th century, the British were the first of the European explorers to reside in Barbados permanently in 1625. During the 1600s, the Royal African Company shipped African men, women and children to work as slaves on sugar plantations. It was a rare commodity at the time, and was the predominant export crop in Barbados for centuries.

After independence, the narrow resource base that the colonial administration left meant that the economy was vulnerable to external shocks. During the 1970s, a drop in sugar output helped to cause a downturn in Barbados’ economy.

The government thus shifted to seek growth from other sectors. A 1995 White Paper on Education Reform advocated for a shift from agrarian and manufacturing work to service and tech. It coincided with an entry to CARICOM’s Caribbean Single Market and Economy, a system where Barbadians and Caribbean islanders alike could move and trade freely. Thirty years later, tourism and its related industries are now the biggest employers and swallow up 25% of the workforce: a huge transformation over 60 years.

Education Reform

Education reform has followed a similar track in Barbados. The dominance of the sugar industry was a system suited to its colonizers and raises incredible similarities to the education system at independence that suited white British settlers. The availability and quality of education varied hugely across the island based on public or private status. There was limited access to secondary education, especially for the emancipated population, whereas white settlers would often send children back to the U.K.

Only after independence in 1966 did the government abolish school fees, pilot school meals and expand education so that access to secondary education was increased. It allowed for the University of West Indies to open its first campus on Barbados in 1963 and a plethora of Community Colleges and secondary schools followed suit.

Like the transition from agriculture to tourism, Barbados shifted its approach. Today, the successes of this post-independence academic education drive are evident. The literacy rate ranks highly at 99.6%.

Arguably, an overlooked factor has been the availability of skills training. A crucial misstep in the Ministry of Education occurred in the 1970s. It made student loans available for academic-oriented programs, but crucially left vocational and educational training centers out. Though it has now changed, the separation of vocational and academic education still continues.

Vocational Education Training Centers in Barbados Today

Today, vocational training qualifications are administered by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Council (TVET). It offers more than 250 training programs at more than 60 centers in person with courses also available online. A number of these are catered toward tourism: individuals could receive training in barbering, bar service and community tourism. In a bid to make vocational training programs more popular, pre-vocational training programs were first piloted in six schools in the year 2000.

This has proved difficult. As the International Labour Organisation (ILO) made clear in 2014, “there is insufficient integration of the mainstream education and technical training.” The result is clear. “This arrangement impacts both on the ability to provide effective cross-sectoral education and training and on students, prolonging their period of movement through the system.” The organization directly linked youth training levels to employment levels.

Funding Cuts

Now, the government has cut funding to education. From 2000 to 2025, the proportion of total government spending on essential education services decreased from 22.2% to 14.2%. This may have a bigger impact on skills training than academia, which has historically received more funding than vocational educational training.

The result of funding cuts in the education sector may be seen in unemployment statistics for the country. Although the job creation rate is strongest in sectors like tourism, construction, manufacturing and retail, the highest unemployment rates are in the same industries, sitting at a 3% unemployment rate compared to 1% to 1.5% for other industries.

Underemployment is also highest for these sectors. This might indicate a skills mismatch in the tourism and tourism-related industries as employees do not have the skills to attain jobs in tourism. The reported failures by the Ministry of Education in providing vocational educational training might explain this as employers require skills that job-seekers do not have. 

An opposition senator iterated this point in a recent joint select committee about a new citizenship and immigration bill. Senator Walters identified that employers are instead seeking foreign workers for basic roles related to tourism like “warehouse assistant, sales associate, and a shop supervisor.” He stated that training institutions were failing Barbadians, “if we cannot fill those jobs, something is wrong with our education system.” His criticism fired shots at the Ministry of Education.

Vocational Training Around the World

Across the world, governments have developed vocational education programs to improve the employment rate and increase economic growth. Last year, the British government announced a new vocational qualification called V-levels to simplify vocational qualifications. In the U.S., recent survey data showed a rise in nondegree paths, especially those that offer vocational training. However, where other governments around the world have increased funding for vocational educational training, the Barbadian government has contravened this trend by decreasing essential education funding. 

Looking Ahead

Barbados is uniquely placed to capitalize upon the global trend of improving vocational qualifications. In a country which is densely populated with 86.3% of the population in urban hubs, it seems that agricultural dominance will no longer be the primary way to improve economic growth. Prioritizing academic improvement post-independence has been a successful part of the shift to prioritizing the service sector. However, funding cuts for essential education services pose a question about the impact this will have on vocational educational training centers and the employment of young Barbadians. The tourism sector is the biggest employer on the island, and vocational qualifications are purpose-built for this field. Prioritizing funding for vocational training may be the solution.

– Luke Buckland

Luke is based in London, UK and focuses on Business and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash