Government Spotlight: Preparing Barbados for a Digital-Ready Workforce

Overview & Challenges

Barbados, renowned for its pristine beaches and vibrant culture, faced a pivotal moment when the global pandemic brought international travel to a standstill in 2020. As a nation reliant on tourism, with nearly 18% of its GDP coming from the sector, this economic stagnation highlighted the urgent need for economic diversification and workforce reskilling.

To address pandemic recovery and prepare its workforce for a changing job market, Barbadian Prime Minister Hon. Mia Amor Mottley established the National Transformation Initiative (NTI) as part of its Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) Plan. The NTI seeks to equip every Barbadian with the knowledge, skills, and values to be citizens of good character to compete in a digital world.

Dr. Allyson Leacock, Executive Director for the National Transformation Initiative (NTI), explains:

We realized that to build a resilient economy, we needed to equip our citizens with skills for the digital age. It wasn’t about weathering the storm but reimagining Barbados’ future in a quickly changing economy. We saw this as an opportunity to retool our workforce, revamping ourselves for a new dimension in the global marketplace.

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The Partnership

Through the NTI, the government partnered with Coursera to create a bold, nationwide upskilling program. Together, they designed various skills development programs tailored to Barbados’ economic needs in three important sectors:

1. Skills for Global Success: Developed as a foundational program for all Barbadians to be “fit for purpose” for a digitally transforming Barbados. This program incorporates digital and durable skills, drawing from international frameworks like DigComp and IEEE 3427.1™ Standard for Digital Intelligence (DQ), and local labor market data.

2. Sector-Specific Learning: Programs designed for key economic sectors such as tourism and “blue economy” industries. These were developed in consultation with relevant government ministries to address specific human capital needs in these sectors.

3. Targeted Learning: Custom programs for specific population needs. For example, NTI created a tailored program for 2,000 secondary education teachers in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Erdiston Teacher Training College, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Dr. Leacock recounts:

Coursera’s approach was a game-changer. Their willingness to understand our cultural reality and tailor content to resonate locally was crucial. We didn’t just want off-the-shelf solutions; we needed a partner who could help us reimagine learning for Barbados.

The initiative leverages Coursera’s expansive catalog of courses and certifications, focusing on areas critical to Barbados’ economic future. The program prioritizes data literacy, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship, and programming—skills ranked in the top five fastest-growing business skills worldwide—but also emphasizes soft skills that she has renamed ‘success skills’ like leadership and communication, which are just as important as technical knowledge.

In addition to the Coursera offerings, the NTI developed indigenous courses created by Bajans for Bajans. These practical courses, such as the flagship Citizenship course, Online Safety Essentials, and Personal Financial Management, are relevant to the Barbadian way of life.

The initiative has also addressed specific industry needs, launching a Tourism Academy to support functional and digital literacy across the country’s hospitality sector. These courses proved essential as Barbados tackled the challenges of shifting to emergency remote operations during the pandemic.

Impact

Since its launch, the initiative has seen inspiring engagement. Over 15,000 unique Barbadian learners have enrolled in courses, with more than 17,000 course completions recorded.

One learner shared:

Even though I’m doing my university degree program, I was still able to find courses that would assist me with my HR knowledge that is outside what I would have done with my degree, including Preparing to Manage Human Resources, Recruiting, Hiring, and Onboarding Employees, and People Analytics. I’ve even used a course to show me how to revamp my LinkedIn page, which has been useful. These are things I believe all Barbadians should take advantage of to raise our skills as a society and be more competitive on a global scale.

NTI has made strides in bringing online learning to the traditional education system, including integrating nursing courses into the curriculum of the Barbados Community College. Dr. Leacock shared: “Our next step is to engage faculty in using these courses to remain competitive and up their curriculum.”

Looking Ahead

As Barbados looks to the future, the NTI-Coursera partnership plays an important role in realizing the vision of Mission Barbados, the country’s ambitious development roadmap. The initiative aligns closely with Barbados’ goals of becoming a sustainable, prosperous, and resilient society. By fostering digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and innovation, it’s empowering Bajans with the skills needed for thriving careers.

The initiative continues to evolve and expand, growing from six programs at launch to sixteen today, including new courses in gaming and AI through Coursea’s Generative AI (GenAI) Academy. The partnership is also progressing with a renewed focus on marketing outreach. “We’ve hired a dedicated marketing manager to ensure every Bajan knows about these opportunities,” Dr. Leacock explains. “Our goal is to reach every corner of our society, from school leavers to mid-career professionals looking to pivot.”

The long-term impacts of this initiative could be transformative for Barbados. By upskilling and retooling its workforce, the country is positioning itself as a knowledge-based economy with the opportunity to become a hub for digital services in the Caribbean.

As Barbados continues its digital transformation journey, this partnership shows the power of visionary leadership and strategic collaboration. With Coursera, Barbados is reimagining what’s possible for a small island nation in the global digital economy.

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