Twenty-five guidance counsellors and 100 3rd and 4th form students representing all secondary schools in Barbados have benefitted from training by CHOICES Career & Education Advice on Friday November 7, 2014).  

The training was sponsored by the Barbados Ministry of Labour, Social Security & Human Resource Development as part of its capacity building strategy through grant funding from the European Union.  The training workshops took place at The University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus in St. Michael, Barbados.

The workshops for counsellors, entitled “Your Role in Your Students’ Career Choice”, and for students, entitled “Choosing the Right Career for You”, were both facilitated by Mrs. Angela deFreitas, General Manager of CHOICES, who was on a Caribbean tour including Barbados conducting  career awareness workshops in schools.

According to the Ministry, training for these two groups is the start of a process of sensitising counsellors in the area of career counselling.  The strategy will also see the Ministry implementing a national career planning unit.

The workshop helped to equip counsellors with knowledge and skills to empower students in making career choices while students were offered the tools to assist themselves.  Each did the psychometric test, The Career Key, in order to find their own personality type and determine the most suitable career paths and also received the CHOICES Career & Education Magazine themed “Your CXC’s”, both essential tools for secondary students.

Angela deFreitas is a career advice specialist who has provided guidance and training on career-related issues for school personnel across the region. One of her greatest passions is helping individuals choose the right career path, set realistic goals and achieve success in work, education and life.

Her company produces The Career Key (Caribbean edition) which has aided thousands of users in career planning for close to two decades.  CHOICES is the only authorised publisher and distributor of The Career Key (Caribbean edition) in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, where it is now used by students in hundreds of schools.

The training was endorsed by the Barbados Association of Guidance Counsellors.