CRMA aims to match skills with labour market needs – Agency partnering with other institutions to offer skills training for job seekers

DPI, Guyana, Monday, May 7, 2018

Young job seekers are being adequately equipped for the world of work thereby, matching skills with the needs of the labour market.

This is being achieved through a collaborative effort between the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CRMA) and other agencies, including the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport.

Training is provided through vocational institutions in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten namely the Kuru Kuru Training College, Government Technical Institute, Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC), Mahaicony, Linden and Essequibo Training Institutes, Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA), the Mercy Wing Training Centre and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

Chief Recruitment and Manpower Officer, Valarie Moore explained that this initiative is specially tailored to cater for persons who did not write the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and those who did but attained low grades.

The CRMA also hosts its own ‘World of Work’ seminars in the six regions, targeting job seekers within its database. This event aims to develop skills necessary for interviews and other techniques to secure employment.

“We have recognised that some of the things that would affect their ability to participate in job interviews. For example, some jobseekers are often not dressed appropriately for the job interview, so, we help to build capacity,” Moore explained.

It has also been recognised that some of the youths require advice or in some cases public assistance. Those persons are referred to the Woman of Worth (WOW), and the Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) under the Ministry of Social Protection.

In 2017, CRMA registered some 2,000 jobseekers drawn from Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten, 1,000 of which were provided jobs. While, for 2018 (January to March), some 700 persons registered for jobs, of which about 200 were placed jobs.

The Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency is a division of the Social Protection Ministry. It 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 Agency was established by the Government of Guyana in October 1944.

 

By: Synieka Thorne.