No.  “No value” is the sad and frustrating retort given to too many persons who have submitted their credentials to the Antigua and Barbuda National Accreditation Board (ABNAB) for courses offered by the various government and private training agencies in Antigua and Barbuda. The initial, glowing exuberance is quickly turned to displeasure, disappointment and dismay as the chances of promotion or increased salary seems even more remote, and the next time they see you in the supermarket there is a pretense that you do not exist.

Admittedly, the language is not so harsh and insensitive, but the meaning is “pellucidly clear”. In fact, the language used is often crafted in more palatable terms such as: “The credentials submitted demonstrate a commitment to ensuring, continuous learning, and a desire to constantly upgrade your competencies, and unquestionably your personal development has been enhanced. This is undoubtedly commendable. However, ABNAB is regrettably not in a position to authenticate the veracity of credentials or to make recommendations concerning the value of the credentials.

The content, the teaching methods and evaluation strategies are absent, consequently, no objective assessment can be made to ascertain the value of the credentials.” Simply put, unless the “home- grown” course/program is meticulously checked by competent professionals in the discipline, ABNAB’s mandate of quality assurance does not allow it to make recommendations which are likely to result in increased compensation in these instances. The problem is further exasperated by credentials which have the designation – “Certificate of Attendance”. A Certificate of Attendance is not quantifiable, not measurable. 

Yes, the applicant has attended the course but for how many days or how many hours or what percentage of the time? Furthermore, attendance does not necessarily translate into learning. In short, was the degree of learning tested by an effective, evaluation strategy?

I am sure that the point is clear, and further attests to the fact that in the eyes of ABNAB, the credentials have “No value…except for personal development”. In summary therefore, we strongly advise that ALL training providers (including Government) seek to have their courses/ programs accredited - checked for quality, and avoid the embarrassment of being told or their students being told “your credentials have no value …. except for personal development”.