Public officers who attend local in-service training courses are not required to submit reports to Training Administration Division.

All public officers who have been granted training leave to enable them to attend a course of training are required to submit a report on completion of the training course to the Training Administration Division (Section 7.13 of the general orders, pg 79). You should submit these forms to Training Administration Division through your ministry/department. Training Course Report Form

Applications for In-service training courses should be submitted based on the deadline date set in the circular or memorandum sent to the Ministry/Department.

Participants are expected to meet the following criteria for all courses:

Punctuality – 95%; and Attendance – 95%

The recommended attire for all training courses is business wear/business casual, as participants are still considered to be on the job and are required to dress accordingly.

Officers should apply for study leave if they intend to pursue a course of study for which they have not been nominated by their Ministry/Department, but which is relevant to the public service.

Training leave is requested by the Head of Department on behalf of an officer who is undertaking a course of study that is directly related to the Ministry/Department.

Study leave refers to leave granted to an officer to pursue a course of study regard or training which is negotiated by that officer on his own initiative regardless of its value to the Service and for which study or training that officer may not necessarily have been selected in competition with other officers (General Orders Sections 7.1 (b), pg.75).

Training leave refers to leave granted to enable officers to pursue courses of training or study which have been initiated by the Government to meet its requirements (General Orders Section 7.1 pg. 75).

Consideration is given to the relevance of course of study to the wider public service.

The accredited status of institutions is considered by the relevant Services Commission. The course of study should also be recognized.

No. A three year minimum intervening period between periods of study leave is required.

Five years is the criteria used by the Training Committee in their recommendations to the relevant Services Commission, when considering requests for study leave.

Temporary officers with more than one year but less than two (2) years’ service may receive a total of two (2) weeks study leave in any one calendar year to prepare for and write certificate, diploma or professional examinations.

Temporary officers with more than one year but less than two (2) years’ service may receive a total of two (2) weeks study leave in any one calendar year to prepare for and write certificate, diploma or professional examinations.

I. Degree (including Associate Degree), Certificate, Diploma or Professional Examinations

(i) A total of four (4) weeks in any one calendar year to prepare for and write degree, certificate, diploma or professional examinations.

(ii) In cases where the semester system is in operation, the study leave should be granted as follows: a. Two (2) weeks only for the first semester examination b. Two (2) weeks only for the second semester examination

II. Degree (including Associate Degree), Certificate, Diploma or Professional Examinations through Distance Learning

The same conditions should apply as those outlined above

III. Departmental Examinations

One (1) week should be granted in any one calendar year for departmental promotion examinations.

IV. Other Examinations

One (1) week should be granted in any one calendar year for any other examinations including Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations. At the Ordinary level, leave should be granted only to persons who are preparing for at least two (2) subjects.

2. In considering whether to grant requests for short periods of study leave, the following guidelines should be taken into account:

(ii) If the examination falls outside the period of study leave, then the officer may be required to take vacation leave to write the exams.

(iii) Those person who have NOT been granted training leave to pursue the Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) should be granted short periods of study leave to take examinations and this leave should be granted on the same basis as recommended for officers pursuing degree programmes.

(iv) Those persons who have been granted training leave would not be eligible for short periods of study leave.

(v) Only those persons who are pursuing recognized programmes at educational and training institutions should be granted short periods of study leave.

(iv) A Study Leave Year is equivalent to one (1) calendar year, that is, January to December.

(vii) At the beginning of each calendar year, the Heads of Ministries/Departments should ensure that there is a roster which would indicate the schedule of short periods of study leave which would be required by officers. Applications for short periods of study leave should be in conformity with the leave roster prepared and approved for that purpose.

(Viii) Applications for short periods of study leave should be submitted in writing and the appropriate forms should be duly completed.

(ix) The onus would be on the officer to provide satisfactory evidence to the Heads of Ministries/Departments that: a. He/she will be pursuing a course/programme of study which leads to examinations. The officers should also provide a schedule of the examinations to be taken. b. He/she will, in fact, be preparing to take the particular examination(s) for which study leave is requested.

(x) An officer who fails an examination should be granted study leave on only one (1) occasion thereafter to prepare for it.

Study Leave is not granted to write a dissertation.

This type of leave request is made directly to your permanent secretary or head of department.

Training Administration Division requires that all completed applications for study leave be submitted through your Permanent Secretary/Head of department to its office on or before:

28th February for programmes commencing August – October of the same year 31st July for programmes commencing in January of the following year

All requests for extensions of study leave must be channeled through the parent ministry for comments and recommendations, accompanied by official correspondence from the institution corroborating the request, and stating reasons for the extension, exact period of leave required and the courses to be undertaken and a progress report. See section 7.13 of the General orders, pg. 79.

All public officers who were unsuccessful in their request for study leave may request a review of the decision.

Public officers who were granted study leave may request a review of the condition under which the study leave was granted.

Study Leave is processed by the training committee.

Thereafter the relevant Services Commissions, through the Chief Personnel Officer, considers the recommendations and makes a determination pending confirmation of acceptance by the institution and the signing of a bond.

When Training Administration Division receives a response from the chief Personnel Officer of the approval or non-approval or non-approval of the required study leave, this information is channeled to the Ministries/Departments with an invitation to inform the respective candidate.

All annual training requests should be submitted to Training Administration Division by September 30th for inclusion in the training proposals to be submitted at estimates.

Training Administration Division also processes offers of training received from other agencies and Governments. These offers are sent to relevant ministries or circularized within the public service.

Study Leave When study leave is granted “with Pay’ the officers are required to sign a Study Leave Bond as per section 7.11.1 of the General Orders. In this regard, the Division will prepare necessary Bond and communicate with the candidate directly and invite him/her to come to the Division to execute the Bond.

Training Leave Public officers, who have been granted training leave for a period of three months or more, will be bonded on completion of their training (Section of 7.11.1 of the General Orders, pg. 77).

Bonded amount = salary + estimated cost of training + 4% interest
Stamp duty = 0.25% of bonded amount
The scales of bonded service are as follows:

Simple interest at a rate of 4% is charged on each loan.

• Evidence of employment in the Barbados public service.

• Acceptance letter from the institution of study or copy of last academic report if already attending a course of study.

• An official cost sheet from educational institution

• A course outline

• Proof of income (employment letter and current pay slip)

• Signed affidavits from two sureties

When a training loan has been approved, the applicant is required to enter into a bond to repay to the crown the amount of the loan. Two sureties are required.

Library Materials are loaned only to those persons employed within the public service.