Barbadians over the age of 18 will get the opportunity to “get ahead of the game” by receiving training in artificial intelligence (AI) and job placement with international companies for at least one year.
Senior Loans Collections Officer at the Student Revolving Loan Fund (SRLF), Allan Farmer, stressed that artificial intelligence was the way of the future as it allowed persons to complete tasks “in lighting speed”.
Speaking during the official launch of the SRLF’s AI programme in the Media Resource Department’s Conference Room at the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training recently, he said the cost of the programme is BDS$8,000 with a laptop, and BDS$6,000 without the device.
Mr. Farmer stressed that the loan would be financed at a rate of 3.5 per cent and students signing up on the portal before December 31, 2023 will compete for prizes.
He added that programme, which runs for 10 weeks, is open to members of the disabled community, and some of the loan qualifying requirements had been relaxed.
“The idea behind AI is to be more inclusive, so the idea of including disabled persons within this project now allows us to provide opportunities for them that they wouldn’t have normally, and we have agreed to cover all the add-ons because obviously there will be add- ons for them to learn…. The disabled community will not be required to find sureties or security…. All of that is covered by the Student Revolving Loan Fund and the Government Barbados,” Mr. Farmer stated.
The Senior Loans Collections Officer said the training was an opportune time to provide employment opportunities and enhanced training for the underemployed.
He insisted that Government had done its research on AI and had selected the best candidates to run the programme.
“It’s a partnership…. We didn’t just pull it out from anywhere. The Government of Barbados did research and then selected the best candidates to run the programme. The lead candidates on this programme is Protexxa, our Canadian partners, and then we have the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, as a partner. The Student Revolving Loan Fund is a financing partner and Toronto Metropolitan University is also the academic partner on this programme,” Mr. Farmer explained.
During the webinar, there were presentations from Academic Coordinator at Protexxa, Ryan Thompson, and Vice President of Strategy and Innovation Coordinator, Dr. Rick Huijbregts, who gave a synopsis of the programme and the range of jobs available in AI.
Interested students may log on to the SRFL’s portal https://srlfloan.edu.bb to sign up.