OTTAWA, Canada, CMC—The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and Tourism HR Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that they say will support and grow a skilled, sustainable tourism workforce in both regions.
They said the collaborative working relationship builds upon long-established tourism links between the two regions.
“The agreement is based on the organizations’ respective mandates, emphasizing that the growth and competitiveness of tourism rely on the industry’s ability to attract and retain a skilled workforce,” according to a statement on Friday.
“This agreement with Tourism HR Canada allows CTO members to tap into their wealth of expertise in workforce development,” said CTO’s director of Resource Mobilization and Development, Sharon Banfield-Bovell.
“By collaborating on training, capacity building, and competency standards, we will not only strengthen our tourism workforce but also create opportunities for knowledge exchange that will benefit both regions.”
Tourism HR Canada president and chief executive officer Philip Mondor said, “We are excited to share with and learn from an organization that shares our goals and values around the importance of workforce development, skills training, employer support, and professional recognition.
“We have over 30 years of experience around labor market topics, which we hope will enhance the initiatives undertaken by the Caribbean Tourism Organization. In turn, we look forward to expanding on our capacity and gaining fresh perspectives as we work with their esteemed professionals.”
The collaboration entails sharing information with each organization, building on decades of sharing labor market intelligence on matters of joint interest, including invitations to participate in events or special committees.
The organizations will work together to enhance personnel skills and knowledge through training and knowledge-sharing initiatives, striving towards exemplary practices to grow and develop sustainable tourism workforces.
The MoU also calls for leveraging resources, and this includes the CTO adapting Tourism HR Canada’s tourism competency library for use in the Caribbean, adapting Tourism HR Canada’s Emerit certification credentials to inform similar instruments for the Caribbean market, and brokering or adapting proprietary learning content for use in each other’s market.
The agreement also allows for the development of a new technology platform to host and manage the tourism competency library. The organizations will continually work together to improve programs and services to create globally competitive workforces.
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