CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION OF CARICOM SKILLS QUALIFICATION
The Certificate of Recognition of CARICOM Skills Qualification programme facilitates the free movement of labour by CARICOM Skilled Nationals (CSNs) by allowing CSNs of participating CARICOM nations to move between nations to seek and pursue work opportunities without needing to obtain a work permit. The information below provides insight into the activity within this programme during the quarter January to March 2025 (Q1 2025).
During the quarter, one hundred, sixty-two (162) Certificate applications were received, and one hundred, thirty-six (136) Certificates were issued. The number of Certificate applications received was an 11% increase from the tally amassed during the October to December 2024 quarter (Q4 2024), meanwhile the number of Certificates issued was a 17% increase. Additionally, thirty-three (33) Certificate verification requests were received, and thirty (30) Certificates were verified. The number of Certificate verification requests was a 10% increase meanwhile the number of Certificates verified was a 4% decrease.
TABLE 1: CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY NATIONALITY OF RECIPIENT: January – March 2025
As the chart above shows, the largest number of Certificates were issued to nationals from Jamaica. No Certificates were issued to nationals from Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Montserrat, nor Suriname.
TABLE 2: CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CATEGORY OF QUALIFICATION: January – March 2025
The joint largest number of the 136 Certificates issued were to those who applied under the Household Domestic and Graduate categories. No Certificates were issued under the Media Person, Teacher, Sports Person nor Nurse categories.
TABLE 3: CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY AGE OF RECIPIENT: January – March 2025
During the quarter, the largest number of Certificates were issued to individuals aged between 26 to 30 years old with twenty-five (25) individuals falling into this age group. The average age of recipients was 37.6, just over one year older than the average during the previous quarter of 36.1.
BARBADOS ACCREDITATION COUNCIL RECOGNITION SERVICES
The Barbados Accreditation Council offers a number of recognition services that provide applicants the opportunity to learn the recognition status of qualifications, institutions, and programmes. The information below provides insight into the activities within these services during Q1 2025.
| JANUARY 2025 – MARCH 2025 | |||||
| BAC RECOGNITION SERVICES | |||||
| SERVICE | MALE | FEMALE | TOTAL | PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL | CHANGE FROM Q4 2024 |
| RECOGNITION OF INSTITUTION and/or PROGRAMME | 3 | 10 | 13 | 68.4% | 10 , 334% |
| RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS (EQUIVALENCY) | 3 | 2 | 5 | 26.3% | -5 , -50% |
| RECOGNITION & VERIFICATION OF QUALIFICATIONS | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.3% | -1 , -50% |
| TOTAL | 6 | 13 | 19 | 100.0% | 4 , 27% |
TABLE 4: APPLICATION FOR BAC RECOGNITION SERVICES: January – March 2025
As the table above shows, the demand for the Council’s Recognition Services increased slightly from the level of demand during Q4 2024. This quarter, the Council received nineteen (19) applications across the services, with the largest number of these received for the Recognition of Institution and/or Programme service.
BARBADOS ACCREDITATION COUNCIL REGISTRATION SERVICES
As the sole entity with responsibility for assuring quality in post-secondary/tertiary education and training in Barbados, one of the BAC’s services in this regard is the registration of institutions seeking to operate in Barbados and offer their programmes of study. The information below provides a look into the activity within this service during Q1 2025.
| JANUARY 2025 – MARCH 2025 | |||||
| BAC REGISTRATION SERVICES | |||||
| INSTITUTION | DESCRIPTION | REGISTRATION OR RE-REGISTRATION | PERIOD OF REGISTRATION | PREVIOUS PERIOD OF REGISTRATION | YEAR OF FIRST REGISTRATION |
| Testis Security Systems | Security Knowledge & Crime Prevention | Re-Registration | 1 year | February 2023 – February 2024 | 2020 |
| Victoria University of Barbados School of Medicine | Medical Education | Re-Registration | 1 year | December 2022 – December 2024 | 2022 |
TABLE 5: REGISTRATIONS/RE-REGISTRATIONS COMPLETED: January – March 2025
During the quarter, there were two (2) re-registrations completed, as the Testis Security Systems and Victoria University of Barbados School of Medicine both completed re-registration with the Council for one-year periods.
We invite all readers to visit our website at www.bac.gov.bb to learn more about the services that the Council offers and how they can be beneficial to you.
