and what role can economic research play in fostering such growth. transformational growth is a long - run phenomenon, which involves at its core the structural transformation of the economy, the basic premise being the repositioning and reallocation of economic activity across the broad sectors of the domestic economy. for the majority of caribbean countries, these sectors are services, primarily tourism and financial services, and to a lesser extent manufacturing, mining and agriculture. in the case of barbados, the government has articulated a national digitisation strategy to transform the economy. the aim is to build a new economy that is knowledge - intensive, technologically driven, and that promotes innovation, creativity and inclusiveness. indeed, technological advancements are fuelling the pace of digitisation of the global economy, 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches which represents the greatest potential to drive transformational growth through changes in the economic structure of production. we at the bank recognise that changes in technology are transforming the way financial institutions are interacting with their customers. in particular, the impact of technological advancements on financial regulation and supervision should be an area of research focus, as central banks must adapt to these changes and engage with key stakeholders to ensure the appropriate safeguards are in place to manage the inevitable risks that the new developments present. we must also conduct more micro - based studies to develop a deeper understanding of the behaviours our societies. the initiative to reduce the use of cash is a prime example of how such research can help us better understand the payments landscape in our economies. the goal of structural transformation and ultimately the realisation of transformative growth must be inclusive. this means that everyone benefits from or shares in the income and wealth generation when the economy expands. from an economic perspective, research on the strategies that increase total factor productivity, competitiveness and economic diversification within and across economic sectors are essential. finally, our research must examine how we can reduce the unsustainable use of natural resources to ensure that natural disasters and climate change do not put the prospects for transformational growth at risk. the seminar programme reveals an interesting mix of research papers, the launch of the 2019 financial stability report and a barbados economics society discussion forum on the effectiveness of the bert programme. on behalf of the central bank of barbados, welcome once again and i wish you fruitful, stimulating and enjoyable seminar over these three days, and may we all be inspired to conduct more research that transforms our economies. thank you. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

, we are wary of it, perhaps feeling, as karl marx did that “ machinery does not just act as a superior competitor to the worker, always on the point of making him superfluous. ” such fears can lead to resistance or, in extreme cases, obstruction, to your efforts. merely offering statistics that show that adopting new technology can lead to increased job creation and higher productivity will not be sufficient to prevent this. hr managers and their teams need to counsel staff about the impending changes, offer a vision of what the transformed organisation will look like, and then shepherd them through the process. this means that you, too, must embrace the idea and all that it encompasses. indeed, for you to be truly effective, you must also demonstrate your own ability to adapt your systems. one aspect of this is reskilling. while greater utilisation of technology might not lead to a significant reduction in an organisation ’ s staff complement, it will inevitably lead to a shift in where and how staff members are deployed. an employee who previously performed a job that can now be made more efficient through automation, could find himself transferred within the organisations to perform a new function. for many employees, especially those who have spent their entire tenure in one department, and potentially in the same post, this can be a tremendous shock. as hr professionals, you will be tasked with making that transition smoother, including by identifying the training they will need. even when employees maintain their current position, they will need to broaden the scope of their abilities. consider our colleagues in our bank supervision departments : how many of them even 10 years ago would have contemplated the regulatory challenges posed by fintech or by new entrants from outside the traditional financial sector into the market? how many would have known how to even approach regulating it? the education and training employees get before entering the workforce is now just the beginning. they will need to commit to lifelong learning, to continually upgrading their expertise. indeed, deloitte estimates that the time it takes for the skills you currently have to become obsolete is a mere two and a half to five years. 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches moving beyond “ that ’ s the way we ’ ve always done it ” for us as central banks to effectively fulfil our mandate, we must be able to identify the gaps in employees ’ competencies and support them as they work to fill them. be mindful, however, that as we look to embrace this transformation, we