May 10, 208 -- There will be a doubling of development assistance to the Caribbean region from CAN$30 Million to CAN$60 Million, this year.
This
was revealed by Canadian High Commissioner, David Marshall during
a courtesy call on Minister with responsibility for Labour, Senator
Arni Walters, at the latter's office, at the Warren's Complex.
Ambassador Marshall, in acknowledging that the funding would be of "some interest to the Labour Ministry", added that Canada was embarking on a programme for vocational
training assistance for youth who were "not able to proceed to tertiary
education in order that they may find employment, gain skills and be
productive members of the society." He assured the Minister that a team
would determine the usefulness of the programme.
Minister
Walters, in accepting the offer of technical assistance, noted that
another area of interest would be that of building capacity and
capability. In this regard, he pointed to the need for training of
instructors with respect to vocational training. He said, "We may want
technical assistance in going the route of modernising our training
techniques so that demonstrators and instructors would benefit."
The
Minister also expressed the need for increased numbers of Barbadians on
the Canadian farm and hotel programmes. He said, "During
October/November, in our low season, is where we would want to have
additional people in that programme.
The
two also discussed issues related to e-government, the renewal of the
public sector as well as accountability, transparency and integrity
legislation.
