In a move to better service the growing number of Spanish-speaking visitors to Barbados, Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) Inc. has launched a new foreign language pilot programme aimed at equipping staff with basic communication skills in Spanish.
The initiative, a collaboration between GAIA Inc., the National Transformation Initiative (NTI) and global language education company Rosetta Stone Inc., was announced during a press conference held on Thursday.
Chief Executive Officer of GAIA, Hadley Bourne, described the six-month pilot as a revival of a previous effort, now updated to meet current needs.
“It’s not new—the airport was involved with it many years ago, but we are giving it a fresh look. The main purpose of it is to arm our community and give our employees the skills to handle persons who may not speak our language, and to communicate with them in an environment that helps them feel comfortable,” he said.
“The real goal of this rollout is to enhance how we interact with our neighbouring islands. As we look to build out our tourist product, I think this programme will help. It’s only a pilot, but I believe it will enhance our overall competency and capability as a service environment.”
The pilot programme will run for six months, involving 30 employees from across the airport community. Participants will engage in 10 hours of study per month, along with four tutorial sessions. Successful participants will receive a certificate upon completion.
Although the initial focus will be on Spanish, Bourne expressed hope that French—and even sign language—could be added in future phases.
“We would be focusing on Spanish because we’ve seen an increase in travel by our Spanish-speaking diaspora,” he explained.
Director of Operations at GAIA, Piétrick Voyer, echoed Bourne’s sentiments, noting that the airport continues to welcome a diverse range of international visitors.
“We’ve seen an increase in Spanish-speaking passengers. We also have German passengers in the winter season, and many French-speaking passengers—especially on Air Canada flights. We want to expand training in areas that will help facilitate passengers throughout the airport, and one of those areas is languages,” he said.
The pilot project marks the second phase of GAIA’s partnership with the NTI, which has trained hundreds of airport workers over the past year.
Director of the NTI, Dr Allyson Leacock, reported—prior to Bourne’s announcement—that participants had expressed satisfaction with the training they had already received.
“This is an opportunity to build on what we’ve already established with the airport community,” she said of the upcoming pilot programme.
“Once we can communicate with everyone coming through our doors in Barbados, we demonstrate that we truly are inclusive.”
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