标签： Barbados

Across Barbados’ education system, school guidance counsellors are sounding the alarm over a steady, marked rise in students presenting with depression, anxiety and a range of other emotional and behavioral challenges, and are urging education authorities to deploy more full-time support staff to meet the surging need for student mental health care.

Shernell Clarke, president of the Barbados Association of Guidance Counsellors, outlined the growing strain on the sector’s existing workforce in an interview with Barbados TODAY on Friday. Clarke explained that most schools currently operate with just one lone guidance counsellor, who is responsible for a sprawling list of duties beyond direct student mental health support: from career coaching and personal development advising to teaching mandatory Health and Family Life Education courses. Even as counsellors continue to fulfill their obligations, the cumulative workload has become unsustainable for many, she said.

“We are not complaining about the work itself, but we cannot ignore that the demand for our services has grown exponentially,” Clarke noted. “Right now, many institutions share part-time counselling resources across multiple school campuses, which means on-site support is not consistently available when students need it. Having two full-time, dedicated counsellors on every campus would be far more effective than relying on one permanent staff member and one rotating, shared professional who is only present occasionally.”

Clarke emphasized that while there has not been a noticeable spike in violent or severely disruptive student behavior, the number of children seeking and requiring targeted emotional support is far higher than it was in pre-pandemic and previous years. Unlike outdated disciplinary approaches that only address outward behavior, Clarke said Barbados’ guidance counsellors prioritize root-cause intervention, working to unpack the underlying issues driving negative actions rather than just punishing students for their conduct.

Most student mental health and behavioral challenges stem from three core sources: intense peer pressure to fit in, unstable home environments, and widespread socioeconomic strain, Clarke explained. Many young people struggle with dissatisfaction about their current life circumstances, and lack healthy outlets to express their frustration or a clear path to improve their situation. This unaddressed pressure can lead vulnerable students to turn to negative peer groups or harmful coping mechanisms as they seek a sense of status or belonging, she added.

While more students today are comfortable naming and discussing their emotional struggles than in past generations, many severe cases fall outside the scope of school-based guidance counselling. Clarke said outward referral to specialized mental health professionals is a core part of counsellors’ work, with staff regularly connecting students and families to advanced psychological care when needed. She did note, however, that many families referred to public mental health services ultimately opt for private care, a trend that may point to gaps in the public system’s ability to meet growing demand.

The work of supporting students through acute emotional and traumatic challenges also takes a toll on counsellors’ own mental health, but Clarke said the Barbados Association of Guidance Counsellors has put systems in place to support its members. The organization regularly hosts professional-led self-care and therapeutic sessions to help counsellors process emotional stress from their work, and maintains a peer support community where members can share their experiences and struggles without compromising student confidentiality. Counsellors are also often called in to support entire school communities during traumatic events such as the death of a student or staff member, and the association’s internal support systems help counsellors process the emotional weight of those responses.

A shocking admission of financial misconduct has sent shockwaves through Barbados’ legal community, after local attorney Hilary Nelson confessed to stealing nearly $900,000 from one of his clients. The high-profile case has triggered a sharp public rebuke from the Barbados Bar Association (BBA) and reignited long-running discussions about the need for more robust regulatory oversight of the island’s legal sector.

Nelson entered his guilty plea during ongoing proceedings at the Supreme Court last week, and has since been remanded into custody ahead of his sentencing hearing. In an official press briefing held Friday at the BBA’s headquarters on Perry Gap, Roebuck Street, association president Larry Smith KC issued a blistering condemnation of Nelson’s actions, emphasizing that the organization’s governing council rejects any deviation from the strict ethical and professional standards that all practicing attorneys are required to uphold.

“Any conduct by members of the profession that falls short of these expectations is condemned in the strongest possible terms by this council,” Smith stated. He went on to clarify that all allegations of professional misconduct are processed through pre-established legal and disciplinary channels, and that the BBA has long backed the full operation of these systems — including the ultimate penalty of permanent disbarment for attorneys found guilty of severe violations.

Smith acknowledged that the high-profile nature of this case will inevitably erode some public trust in the local legal profession, but urged community members to have confidence in the court system’s ability to deliver fair accountability. “At the appropriate time, when the Bar is called upon to act, we will fulfill our responsibilities,” he added.

The senior counsel also took the opportunity to clarify the independent structure of the BBA’s disciplinary committee, a key point of public confusion around regulatory processes. “I want the public to understand that the Bar council has no oversight over the disciplinary committee,” Smith explained. “When an attorney violates the profession’s code of ethics, it falls to the independent disciplinary committee to take action, not the Bar association leadership.”

Beyond addressing the immediate case, the BBA used the briefing to outline its ongoing push to strengthen the regulatory framework that governs Barbados’ legal sector. The association is currently collaborating with the national government to draft targeted amendments to the island’s Legal Profession Act. These proposed changes are centered on three core goals: boosting professional accountability, streamlining and improving the effectiveness of existing disciplinary processes, and updating requirements for continuing legal education — with a particular focus on ethics training and competent modern professional practice.

“These reforms are intended to ensure that the profession continues to meet the highest possible standards, and that public confidence in the administration of justice is maintained and strengthened over time,” Smith said of the proposed changes, reaffirming the BBA’s commitment to upholding the integrity of Barbados’ legal system.

A growing wave of complaints against unlicensed people offering legal services has prompted the Barbados Bar Association (BBA) to sound an urgent alarm to local residents, outlining the substantial risks consumers face when turning to unqualified providers for legal support. The industry body has moved to publicly clarify its position after questions were raised about its motivation for the notice, stressing that consumer protection, not private professional interests, drives the campaign.

Speaking at the BBA’s headquarters on Roebuck Street, association president Larry Smith KC confirmed that the governing council has received multiple reports of people falsely presenting themselves as certified attorneys and offering legal services without holding active, valid practicing certificates. In response, the BBA published a formal public notice urging residents to avoid working with any individuals not officially enrolled as licensed legal practitioners.

Smith pushed back against early speculation that the warning was a deliberate move to protect the financial positions and existing market share of registered BBA members. He emphasized that the public notice was not issued casually, but as a core responsibility of the association to safeguard the public and preserve the integrity of the island’s justice system.

“Let me be clear: this initiative has nothing to do with protecting our members’ livelihoods or locking in market share,” Smith stated. “The BBA’s core mandates include upholding fair administration of justice, cracking down on unauthorized legal practice, and protecting residents who engage with people claiming to offer legal representation.”

The BBA president went on to outline the key difference between working with a licensed attorney and an unqualified provider. All formally admitted attorneys in Barbados operate within a strict, comprehensive regulatory framework that binds them to formal ethical codes, mandatory professional competence standards, and ongoing disciplinary oversight. If a licensed attorney acts incompetently, mismanages client funds, or breaches client trust, clients have clear formal avenues for recourse: they can file an official complaint with the BBA’s disciplinary committee, and pursue civil remedies in appropriate cases where a professional duty of care has been broken.

Unqualified, unregulated providers operate entirely outside this system, Smith warned. They are not bound by enforceable professional standards, face no disciplinary consequences for misconduct, and leave consumers with almost no options to seek redress if services go wrong. “This is not a hypothetical risk,” Smith noted. “These are tangible, damaging consequences that actual local residents have already experienced.”

When asked whether the BBA supports increasing penalties for unauthorized legal practice, which currently carries a maximum $5,000 fine per year, Smith confirmed that harsher penalties could be included in a forthcoming full review of the island’s Legal Profession Act. The association has also formally pushed for an expansion of the national Legal Aid Scheme to improve access to licensed legal services for low-income residents.

Smith added that while the BBA is prepared to offer its expertise and input to parliamentary lawmakers on legislative changes, all final decisions on regulatory reform rest with Barbados’ elected Parliament. “All matters of public importance will be considered as part of the overhaul, and increased penalties may well be one of those. But the BBA cannot dictate legislative outcomes — lawmaking is the responsibility of Parliament, and we will contribute our perspective if invited to do so,” he said.

Barbados has taken a landmark step to close a long-standing gap in its national social safety net, launching round-the-clock digital payment options for National Insurance contributions that remove major barriers to social security coverage for the country’s large self-employed workforce. Labour, Social Security and Third Sector Minister Colin Jordan made the announcement at the official launch of the “Self-Employed and Secure” community engagement initiative in Speightstown, St Peter, framing the reform as the start of a new era of equitable financial protection for independent workers across the island.

Effective immediately, self-employed contributors can make National Insurance payments through two integrated platforms: the government’s native EZPay+ portal and commercial bill payment service SurePay. Both platforms operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, eliminating the logistical hurdles that have kept thousands of independent workers outside the social security system for decades.

Jordan emphasized that flexible, anytime-anywhere payments are not just a matter of added convenience for self-employed workers—they are a practical necessity. Unlike traditional formal employment tied to a 9-to-5 office schedule, independent work spans irregular hours across sectors from taxi driving and fishing to artisanal craft and creative industries. “No more disrupting your schedule or your earning of money. You can now, in the middle of the night, sit on your bed or at your dining room table and make your payments,” Jordan said, adding that the reform ensures every working Barbadian, regardless of their work model, can access the protection they deserve.

The policy change comes as the National Insurance Scheme faces urgent long-term sustainability challenges. A recent 17th Actuarial Review delivered a sobering projection: if the contributor base does not expand significantly, the National Insurance Fund could be fully depleted by 2034. When Jordan took office, official data showed only 12 percent of Barbados’s self-employed population actively contributed to the fund—a gap the current administration has refused to delay addressing.

“As a government, we decided we would not do the politically expedient thing and kick the can down the road. Once we recognised we had a challenge, we did what former Prime Minister Owen Arthur would say: you face it and you fix it,” Jordan noted. “We are addressing the sustainability of the fund because our self-employed are too valuable to be left to ad hoc relief.”

In additional support for self-employed workers who have fallen behind on past contributions, the new digital system also allows payments for prior coverage years. Workers can now make up missed contributions for 2024 and 2025, alongside current 2026 payments, allowing them to build up their eligibility for future benefits without losing credit for past work. “Every year counts, and this facility allows you to add those missing weeks to your foundation,” the minister explained.

Jordan praised the courage and creativity of Barbadian self-employed workers, who “bet on themselves” every day to grow the island’s economy. But he stressed that hard work alone cannot serve as a retirement plan, and ad hoc emergency assistance is not a substitute for comprehensive social security. Lessons from past crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Beryl, have made clear the devastating human cost of leaving independent workers without a financial safety net, he added.

“The National Insurance Scheme exists precisely so no self-employed person has to face a crisis without a firm foundation,” Jordan said. “I encourage all of you: do not wait until something happens. Join up, sign up, and participate.”

Barbados’ National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS) has announced a landmark milestone for its specialized Self-Employed Unit, revealing that more than 3,000 independent workers have signed up for national social security coverage in just over 14 months since the initiative launched. Officials made the announcement Friday during a celebratory ceremony held at Speightstown Esplanade, where they detailed the community-centered strategy driving the program’s rapid growth and unveiled new flexible payment options tailored to the unique needs of self-employed workers.

Alethea Thomas, acting project manager of the Self-Employed Unit, presented the official progress update at the event, breaking down the results of the unit’s ground-up outreach approach launched on March 17, 2025. By the end of the program’s first full year, 3,039 self-employed Barbadians had completed new registrations, with a sharp late surge pushing totals even higher. Thomas shared that April 2026 alone saw 678 total processed registrations, including 543 first-time sign-ups and 135 reactivations of lapsed coverage, a result she credited to the unit’s intentional, community-facing model.

Unlike traditional social security outreach that relies on centralized bureaucratic offices, the NISSS initiative has shifted to meet independent workers where they already operate. To date, the team has hosted 28 interactive workshops and community sessions across every part of the island, connecting directly with street vendors, skilled tradespeople, creative professionals and other independent workers in their daily work environments. What started as a registration drive has evolved into a long-term relationship-building framework, Thomas explained, that has made NISSS more visible, accessible and trusted among the self-employed community than ever before in the institution’s history.

A key new rollout announced at the ceremony is flexible payment terms designed to accommodate the irregular, fluctuating income streams that are common for independent workers. The initiative’s 15 field officers, all recruited from the local communities they now serve, have been central to the program’s success, Thomas noted, adding that their existing connections to the populations they engage with has helped break down barriers to registration.

Thomas emphasized that the self-employed workforce, whose members make a deliberate choice to “bet on themselves” through independent work, deserve the same long-term social protection that traditional employees access through the national insurance system. “The self-employed persons of Barbados work hard, and they make the necessary sacrifices for themselves, living on their own terms through skill, labour, creativity, and courage that deserves to be honoured,” Thomas told attendees. “What we are offering through the NISSS is the assurance that that hard work pays off, not just today, but for the rest of their lives — that the years of hard work and hustle will lead to somewhere safe, secure, and worry-free.”

She added that every Barbadian, regardless of whether they work for an employer or run their own business, is entitled to financial security during retirement. “Every Barbadian, whether employee or self-employed, deserves those golden years, and it is the mission of the Self-Employed Unit to assure this.” Immediately following the ceremony, the unit’s field officers departed for new outreach stops in Six Men’s Bay and Mile-and-a-Quarter in St Peter, continuing the ongoing registration drive to reach remaining unregistered self-employed workers across the island.

As secondary school students across Barbados increasingly turn away from long-established conventional professions to explore unconventional vocational paths, the Barbados Association of Guidance Counsellors (BAGC) has broadened its industry partnerships to meet this shifting demand. The expansion was announced Friday by BAGC president Sharnell Clarke, during the opening of the association’s 19th National Career Showcase, hosted this year at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill.

Clarke noted that while core traditional careers including law, medicine, and education still draw significant student interest, a clear divergence in vocational preferences has emerged in recent years. To reflect this changing landscape, organizers this year added non-traditional roles to the showcase lineup – including a professional fruit carving artist, one of the creative vocational paths that has piqued growing curiosity among attending students.

“More young people are actively broadening their horizons and opening themselves up to career options their parents or older generations rarely considered,” Clarke explained in an interview on site. “That’s why we worked to bring in representatives from every corner of Barbados’ economy, from skilled creative trades to public service roles that many students have never gotten the chance to learn about first-hand.”

This year’s showcase brought together 70 distinct organizations spanning virtually every major sector of the Barbadian economy: finance, insurance, education, medical and mental health, business development, entrepreneurship, tourism, agriculture, animal control, food nutrition, and skilled creative trades. Even niche public service sectors got a spot in the event: the Barbados Police Service brought representatives from its canine unit and traffic division, while the national agriculture ministry featured six separate departments to introduce students to roles in agribusiness and rural development. For sports-inclined students, Barbados’ iconic cricket legends were also on hand to walk attendees through what it takes to build a professional career in competitive sports. BAGC also hosted its own exhibition, to demystify the work of guidance counsellors and encourage students interested in education and mental health to consider the profession themselves.

Unlike past years, when the showcase opened to secondary students from third to sixth form, resource constraints – including limited event space and tightened funding – forced organizers to refocus the event exclusively on third-form students. This demographic, Clarke explained, is at a critical career juncture: they are just weeks away from selecting specialized subjects for their fourth and fifth form studies, a choice that directly shapes their future post-graduation vocational options.

All secondary schools across the island were invited to send their third-form cohorts, including the specialized Derrick Smith School and Vocational Centre. According to Clarke, the core mission of the annual showcase is to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world work, giving students access to professionals and industries that most would never encounter in their daily school lives.

“For most young people, there’s no way to learn what a typical day looks like in an unfamiliar career until you actually talk to someone who does that work every day,” Clarke said. “This event gives them that chance: they can ask questions, get behind-the-scenes insight, and even discover entirely new careers they never knew existed before.”

Clarke added that a national, centralized showcase offers unique value that smaller, individual school career fairs cannot match. As an island-wide association, BAGC has the resources and network to bring together a far wider range of professions under one roof, giving every attending student access to a broader scope of vocational opportunities no matter what school they attend.