As the world becomes more inclusive and reliant on technical skills including Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), the development of qualifications within this field is crucial for the growth of an innovative society.
For the past year, Information Technology (IT) consultant, Mr. Andre Foster has been working with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council in the development of the occupational standards for the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Service Desk Operations Level 2.
Serving as a technical expert on the standards development and validation committee, Mr. Foster explained that his role, along with other experts, was to itemize those things which would be part of an IT service desk. Furthermore, he alluded to the importance of developing such a skill, stating that as Barbados progressed towards becoming an IT-integrated society, there would be a greater demand for Information Technology service managers.
“We have a young population who are fairly IT savvy and the capacity is out there to have them even more IT Savvy.” He added: “I think the Prime Minister mentioned sometime this year that there was a look to bring more FinTech (financial technology) services to Barbados…If that develops and grows into a large part of our economy, when persons have issues or raise challenges using those services, they are going to be calling on IT personnel to help fix those issues.”
Following the approval and certification of the Service Desk Operations Level 2, Mr. Foster expressed his expectations and outcomes, noting: “There is always more; and as you have more technology being rolled out, that technology is going to have more things that will go wrong and more persons calling IT groups with issues…I think it heads to a situation where the productivity of our people in using IT is going to be improved. And if that happens, we can more than excel as an area of service excellence.”