The UWI Open Campus, British Overseas Territories. Thursday, September 23, 2021 - The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Open Campus, British Overseas Territories collaborated with the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) in the training of customs officers from across the region. As part of this capacity-building initiative, The UWI Open Campus delivered a specialised virtual Train-the-Trainer Workshop on September 15th and 16th, 2021 for some 40 senior Customs Officers from across the region.
The Workshop was aimed at assisting the selected officers in the development of competency skills to become qualified trainers within their departments and in the delivery of CCLEC online courses among member countries. Participating countries included Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts/Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The Workshop was designed and developed by Dr Beverly Shirley, Programme Officer for the The UWI Open Campus, British Overseas Territories (BOTs). It was delivered by Dr Pearlyn Henry-Burrell, Senior Policy Advisor and Manager for Early Childhood Care Education, Ministry of Education, Cayman Islands; Mr William Iton, GENOS certified practitioner specializing in Emotional Intelligence Leadership Assessment and Development; and Dr Roger Nesbeth, Senior Human Resource Officer at The UWI Open Campus, an experienced educator/administrator with over thirty-eight years’ service in education and general management. Topics covered during the Workshop included Instructional Design, Leading Learning, Lesson Planning, Assessment and Evaluation, as well as Emotional Intelligence and Effective Communication.
Commenting on the workshop, Mr Albert Sandy, Permanent Secretary, CCLEC stated, “This Train-the-Trainer programme is critical in the development of the training skills of a cadre of regional officers. Acquisition of skill, knowledge, and expertise provides the basis for the efficient and effective management of the operations of any organization.” Mr Sandy added, “With limited resources to hire external experts, it is especially significant for small developing countries to develop their skills and become less reliant on external support. By all accounts, the workshop achieved its goal, and the participants acquired the knowledge and skills to become effective trainers.”
“I am thankful to The UWI Open Campus team, in particular Dr Beverly Shirley and Dr Phyllis Fleming-Banks and the cadre of professional, scholarly lecturers, for making the excellent delivery and collaboration achieved. CCLEC looks forward to building on this initiative to enhance the capacity and professionalism of the regional customs,” he added.
Manager for The UWI Open Campus British Overseas Territories, Dr Phyllis Fleming-Banks applauded CCLEC for embarking on the capacity-building training and thanked Mr Sandy and his team for choosing to partner with The UWI Open Campus. “Given our mandate to assist in the development of our national resources, we are delighted to be part of this important initiative to ensure that the Customs departments across the region are equipped with the skills and competencies to meet their organisational goals in a rapidly-changing and challenging environment,” she said.
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- Mr Albert Sandy, Permanent Secretary, Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC)
- Dr Phyllis Fleming-Banks, Manager, The UWI Open Campus British Overseas Territories
- Dr Beverly Shirley, Programme Officer, The UWI Open Campus, British Overseas Territories
About The UWI
The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region.
From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Open Campus, and 10 global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.
Ranked among the top universities in the world, by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education, The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. In 2020, it earned ‘Triple 1st’ rankings—topping the Caribbean; and in the top in the tables for Latin America and the Caribbean, and global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old). The UWI is also featured among the top universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action. For more, visit www.uwi.edu.
(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)
