42 youths get a second chance at CSEC

─ “where you want to be is your future and the steps you take to achieve your plan will determine your success” – Min. Scott tells the youths

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Forty-two youths were informed that they will have the opportunity to re-write the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examination (CSEC) in September.

This was made possible through a collaboration between the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CRMA), attached to the Department of Labour and the Ministry of Education.

The announcement was made today during a forum entitled ‘Horizon to a brighter future’ hosted at the Sophia Night School.

[In the photo, from left to right] Programme Coordinator of the Sophia Community Association, Orin Nelson, Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott, Representative of the Ministry of Education, Owen Pollard and Senior Probation Officer and Social Services, Aggrey Azore [extreme right].

Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott addressing the youths at the forum held today at the Department of Labour.

Assistant Chief Recruitment and Manpower Officer, Yolanda Grant and Programme Coordinator of the Sophia Community Association, Orin Nelson.

Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott noted that the initiative will ensure school dropouts are also given a second chance.

“Where you are at now is not your future, where you want to be is your future and the steps you take to achieve your plan will determine your success,” the minister encouraged.

In her remarks, Assistant Chief Recruitment and Manpower Officer, Yolanda Grant noted that the CRMA is also putting measures in place to address the issue of youth unemployment through a multifaceted and diverse approach.

Grant noted that the “aim is to empower youths to apply their skills, knowledge, drive and vision needed to achieve employment so that they can become productive citizens”.

She added that as the country prepares to embark on oil production in 2020, Guyanese youth must be equipped to take advantage of every opportunity available to them.

“Empowering our youths will not only provide them with a certificate but they will receive the necessary technical training that will be beneficiary in the oil and gas sector. We will be looking for our youths; we will be giving them a second chance; we will guide them so that they can be a part of the successful transformation of Guyana.”

The CRMA is a division of the Social Protection Ministry that registers applicants for employment, taking specific note of their occupational qualifications, experiences, and desires; it evaluates, if necessary, their physical and vocational abilities. Its objective is to place individuals seeking jobs in suitable employment while providing career guidance and counselling. The Government of Guyana established the agency in October 1944. The agency is expected to be visiting every administrative region to empower more of Guyana’s youth.

Images: Kelly Gurrick