Barbados is in prime position to become a regional training hub for workers in the aviation industry, Minister of Labour Colin Jordan suggested on Tuesday.Speaking in the House of Assembly during debate on the Civil Aviation Bill 2022, he said that as authorities seek to upgrade the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) to Category 1 status, there were opportunities to offer training for air traffic controllers and other vital technical jobs in the sector.“As we move to become Tier 1, Category 1, we do it through improving not just systems, improving not just facilities, but also improving the skills of our people, and there is absolutely no reason why the country that in my father’s era and in my mother’s era trained teachers for the Caribbean . . . cannot be training air traffic controllers for the Caribbean,” Jordan said.“We are an educational hub, and this is an area – a very technical area, an expert area – that other countries will benefit from.”Jordan insisted that as the region continues to grow in the areas of innovation and trade, Barbados could provide training and resources in areas other than the usual hospitality-based jobs.
