87 graduate from BIT training in Herstelling

A total of 87 persons from several communities graduated with various skillsets offered by the Ministry of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT), at the Herstelling Assembly of God Global Outreach Centre on Sunday.

The graduates received certification in Information Technology, Catering, Garment Construction, Cake Decorating, Cosmetology, Floral Designs and Event Decor.

Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton urged the graduates to continuously upskill themselves with the omplementary training programmes being offered.

“A one skill, one talent person will not survive the world that is before us […] as good as you are, in whatever field you’re qualified, a one skill or one talent person will not survive this world five to 10 years.

“You need to be multi-skilled, you need to be multi-talented, so when a door is closed, you can walk into another door, you already got the skill.

The said it is important that persons succeed so that more financial resources could be provided to train additional persons.

Certificates were also presented to migrants who completed English as a second language, a new course being offered by the Herstelling Vocational Skill Training Institute (VSTI).

Minister Hamilton applauded the initiative, which he said is aligned with the government’s commitment to upskill migrants and pledged the government’s support to the programme.

“We will support that programme which is specific and outside of the technical and vocational training,” he stated.

BIT’s CEO Richard Maughn said the certificate opens up a host of opportunities for participants.
“You have to move forward with it. You can’t sit with it, you can’t get the certificate and stay at home and hope that something will happen […] I can guarantee you if you just sit at home and you wish about it and you pray about it, you will not be able to go through that open door that is there for you,”he noted.
Maughn disclosed that there is a labour shortage in the country and Guyanese must upskill themselves to fill the gaps.

“Government is making resources available so that we as Guyanese citizens can upskill and reskill ourselves. But when we finish upskilling and reskilling ourselves, we must now use those skillsets to make a difference in our community and in our society,” Maughn pointed out. Some 6,000 persons across the country are expected to benefit from the technical and vocational training programmes in 2022.