Education Ministry and Commonwealth of Learning collaborate on the Skills for Work initiative

The Ministry of Education and the Commonwealth of Learning (CoL) are partnering once more to provide free online training to Guyanese. This will be done through the CoL’s Skills for Work initiative being offered to citizens of Commonwealth countries for them to acquire skills to gain employment, better work opportunities and improved livelihoods.

According to CoL, the initiative aims to close the skills gap in demand and high-demand jobs in commonwealth countries. All citizens including persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

These are six-month programs and cater for 800 Guyanese at a time to study in areas such as Digital Marketing, Graphics Design, Android Development and Entrepreneurship among other exciting areas offered by leading universities and companies.

Guyanese can apply to pursue courses being offered by Udemy, Grow with Google and Coursera free of cost.

There are 200 scholarships available for courses offered through Coursera, 300 scholarships for courses offered by Grow with Google and 300 scholarships for courses offered by Udemy.

Applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 50 to apply. They must also have access to a reliable internet connection and ready to commit at least five hours of learning per week. Scholarships will be awarded on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis for those persons that satisfy the criteria.

Graduates from the Grow with Google programmes stand a chance of being hired by one of the world’s top employers including Coursera, T-Mobile and BEST BUY. Interested citizens can register by visiting: www.col-skillsforwork.org.

This initiative follows the successful launch and execution of the Workforce Recovery Initiative launched in Guyana on September 5, 2020, by the Ministry of Education and the Commonwealth of Learning. Through this programme, Guyanese were allowed to pursue short courses offered by the world’s leading universities as a response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment. The programme allowed Guyanese to learn new skills and to improve their knowledge base in particular areas.

That initiative came to an end on March 31, 2021. Through that initiative over 55,000 Guyanese registered whereby 10, 567 of them acquiring 54, 348 certificates. These certificates are now recognised by the Public Service Ministry and the Private Sector Commission for persons seeking employment. Guyana was the leading country with the highest number of registrants and certificates earned by a participating country.

The Ministry of Education encourages all Guyanese to take advantage of this new opportunity to improve their skills and knowledge base. The Ministry is an advocate for lifelong learning and will continue to seek opportunities for Guyanese to pursue training and academic development.