Millions of dollars to develop coding skills in Barbados

Barbados is one of two Caribbean countries benefiting from a multi million dollar coding project.

Code Caribbean, which was officially launched on Tuesday, will be rolled out at the First Form level in select secondary schools from the upcoming academic year.

Speaking during the virtual launch, Education Minister, Kay McConney, said the initiative comes at a time when the Ministry is seeking to transition the system into one that’s more geared to equipping citizens to successfully compete in a modern world.

Barbados and Belize were chosen from among seven countries in the region.

It’s a joint partnership between the Ministries of Education and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with support from Trust for the Americas, Code.Org and the Porticus Foundation.

Division Chief of the IDB’s Education Division, Mercedes Mateo Berganza, says the project aims to bridge the skills gap in science, technology engineering and maths (STEM), which currently exists in the region.

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