NTI Wins Talent Transformation Regional Award

 NTI Director Dr. The Hon. Allyson Leacock standing among fellow awardees at the Coursera Regional Enterprise Awards.

The National Transformation Initiative (NTI) has proudly emerged as the Talent Transformation Regional Winner at the Coursera Regional Enterprise Awards 2024, held for the first time in the LATAM region. The NTI was the only government entity to be honoured, distinguishing itself among universities, educational institutions, and corporate businesses across the globe.

The award, presented in Mexico on October 17, 2024, celebrates NTI’s excellence in “Talent Transformation”—a process that equips today’s workforce with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world. As global shifts continue to reshape industries, the ability to adapt and learn new competencies is now essential. The NTI fosters this adaptability by providing Barbadian citizens with world-class learning opportunities through Government’s major investment in Coursera to enable all Bajans free unlimited access.

Coursera Customer Success Manager Ruben Salazar, NTI Director Dr. The Hon. Allyson Leacock, and Coursera Head of Public Sector Partnerships Mateo Samper at the Awards Ceremony.

NTI’s commitment to expanding opportunities for Barbadian citizens was highlighted by Coursera’s panel of global leaders, who lauded the programme’s positive impact and innovative approach.  A key factor in the panel’s selection was NTI’s creative strategies in reaching Barbadians where they are, as they strive to make learning in all its diverse forms accessible to all. The panel also recognised NTI’s strong alignment with Coursera’s core value of learning without limits and its active contributions to the Coursera community.

NTI Director, Dr. The Hon. Allyson Leacock, expressed pride in the achievement, stating, “We are honoured to be recognised on such a global platform for our efforts to empower the Barbadian workforce. This award reaffirms our mission of inspiring every Barbadian to believe in greater personal possibilities through information, knowledge and skills. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and our partners to the transformation of Barbados. We are committed to reaching every Barbadian, and just as we call on our citizens to learn and adapt, we too are learning, evolving and becoming more creative in our approaches to ensure that no one is left behind.”

 Coursera CEO, Jeff Maggioncalda, and NTI Director, Dr. The Hon. Allyson Leacock, at the Coursera Regional Enterprise Awards.

This award comes at a time when the world is increasingly reliant on talent transformation to remain competitive. NTI’s achievement underscores the value of investing in people, preparing them for the future, and, ultimately, ensuring that Barbados remains at the forefront of global progress.

The NTI-Coursera platform, launched on May 1, 2021, has continually expanded its offerings with cutting-edge training programmes. This partnership gives Barbadians access to high-demand courses and programmes from top universities and industry leaders such as IBM, Google, Yale University, and Meta. To date, the NTI has facilitated over 87,000 enrollments in short online courses, which range from under one hour to six months, with flexible deadlines to accommodate learners’ schedules.

ABOUT NTI

NTI is part of Government’s Retraining and Retooling programme (ReRe), itself a construct within The Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) Programme.

“The Re-Re Program, which involves the Retooling, Empowering, Retraining and Enfranchising of workers has to be at the core of the International Monetary Funded (IMF) program over the next four years. This is the next phase of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) program that is a comprehensive retraining of Barbadian workers in an effort to make the workforce “globally fit for purpose”.

The Hon. Mia Amor Mottley Q.C. M.P. Prime Minister of Barbados
September 18, 2018

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