We commend the work of Training Administration Division (TAD) in compiling a comprehensive document outlining the training programme for the public service for the coming year. This effort is in accord with the Speech from the Throne in February 2008 in which Barbadians were promised that the “Government will spare no effort to establish a well-trained and impartial Public Service.”

The public service has been the bedrock in the development of Barbados. Successive governments in Barbados have been able to depend on the commitment of a well educated cadre of public officers to put into effect the policies which accord with their vision of national progress. However, education is a lifelong activity and as circumstances change so must our capacity to adapt to them.

These are challenging times in Barbados. We are feeling the full effects of the global economic downturn. The Government has devised a recovery plan in an effort to set us on a path to growth and a renewal of our economy. Increased productivity is a central element in the plan. The continued development of a high quality workforce equipped with the requisite core competencies is crucial to the improvement of our national productivity as well as implementation of Government’s policies and programmes in the service of the Barbadian society. This is indispensable as we move forward.

In the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) development index 2010 Barbados was rated third highest of all of the countries in the region after United States of America and Canada. Indeed, Barbados meets certain standards for classification as a developed country. We can be proud of the achievement but we must also recognize that there is a long way to go to advance further and we must be prepared to meet the constantly changing and complex new realities.

This catalogue contains a set of courses and workshops designed, against a background of the financial realities, to provide public officers with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that strengthen job performance. The objective is to contribute to the development of a highly motivated, well-trained workforce. It is important that Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Department collaborate with the TAD and use the training opportunities to improve the work performance of their staff.

I trust that public officers will seize the opportunities afforded by the training development plan outlined in the catalogue. This would not only enhance their personal development but contribute to meaningful public sector reform and the development of a modern efficient public service.