Barbadians turn to SBA for Training

With the rising cost of education and increasing competition for employment, Barbadians are taking advantage of the affordable and quality training & development courses offered by the Small Business Association to either improve their business competitiveness or to make themselves more marketable to employers.

This was evident in the association's third and final semester for the 2014/2015 academic year. The term got off to a successful start with all three of the computer- based accounting classes, QuickBooks, being fully subscribed.

Participants included young entrepreneurs, small business operators and professionals from the association's membership and the general public seeking to further equip themselves with the skills needed to be successful in their respective fields.

In previous semesters, the QuickBooks courses have been in high demand, with each semester having a waiting list of students desirous of taking part in this computer-assisted accounts programme. The value-added to the third term courses was the effective use of social media to mobilise and register students. Participants used the association's Facebook and twitter vehicles to keep up-to-date with the organisation's training schedule and to register early for the classes, thus underscoring the value of these two social media avenues. The productive use of these mechanisms demonstrated the benefit that can be derived from online marketing and the cost effective medium that small firms can use to promote their product offerings, particularly in this time of economic recession.

For more information on courses offered and how to sign up, visit the SBA's website.