Barbados

Reading Time: < 1 min

Barbados is a small state of the Commonwealth and the most eastern of the Caribbean islands, with a population of just over 281,000 (World Bank, 2022).

COL’s work in Barbados is primarily in the areas of higher education through the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) network, teacher education, skills for work and technology-enabled learning. Learners from Barbados are also participating in COL’s free, open online courses and benefitting from other available resources.

Highlights

  • National programme launched to scale up skilling based on the success of COL’s Skills Online partnerships with Coursera, Grow with Google and Udemy.
  • Two TVET institutions have developed institutional ODL strategies and action plans.

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector. COL partnerships assist in improving and extending teaching and learning services to people in the developing Commonwealth.

COL’s partners in Barbados include:

  • Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training
  • Ministry of Labour and Social Partnership Relations
  • Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA)
  • Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
  • University of the West Indies Open Campus

Key Contacts

Board of Governors

Senator the Honourable Kay S. McConney
Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training

Focal Point

Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw
Chief Education Officer
Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training

Notable Mention

Dr Luz Marina Longsworth, COL Honorary Fellow

The late Sir Roy Marshall, member of COL’s Founding Board of Governors

Prof Hazel Simmons-McDonald, former Honorary COL Adviser

Dr Joel Warrican, former COL Chair (Open Campus Barbados, University of the West Indies)

More Information

News

Reports

Publications and Resources

Country Data Sources