Government injects hundreds more into Guyana’s skilled workforce
– as 292 Heavy Duty Equipment Operator trainees graduate in Region Six
The Government continues to fulfil its promises through its aggressive approach to complete initiatives and programmes, in keeping with its 2020 Manifesto promise to ‘provide Guyanese with more jobs, particularly jobs for a new generation of Guyanese with higher education, vocational skills, and higher disposable incomes’. It was on this note that 292 additional heavy duty equipment operators were today added to the country’s skilled workforce following a graduation ceremony in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) for HDEO trainees. The HDEO training programme is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Finance’s Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) and the Ministry of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT) and allows for public and private sector employment of all trainees in the respective field, especially with the country currently on a fast-paced development trajectory.
In its 2020 Manifesto, the PPP/C Government had also made the promise of ‘promoting skills-training to provide employers with a pool of highly trained and skilled human resources, among others’. The HDEO programme targeted persons from three different areas in the Region and forms only part of the ongoing and already concluded training programmes that the administration has been implementing over the past four years across all regions of the country and facilitated through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) and various technical institutes countrywide.
Today’s ceremony saw 247 males and 45 females graduating from the programme, further demonstration the Government’s aim to include women in all fields of employment as well as empower them through access to education, training and employment. It comprised graduates from New Amsterdam, Hampshire and Upper Corentyne as well as persons who hailed from the outskirts of these communities. The programme commenced in September, 2023 and lasted a period of three (3) months. It offered students practical training in operating the tractor, excavator, skidsteer and forklift following which, the trainees would be certified by BIT as Heavy-Duty Equipment Operators.
Delivering remarks at the ceremony today, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service Dr. Ashni Singh, while congratulating the graduands, underscored that the government needs them especially at the rate the economy is growing in the various areas and sectors, adding that the volume of work is greater than any other time in the country’s history.
“You now have a skill to be able to take advantage of that opportunity to apply your skill, to earn an income, to save up a bit and maybe potentially at some point you can set up your own business,” the Senior Minister urged.
Alluding to the three batches Govt took the decision to train from the three different areas in Region Six, Dr. Singh explained, “Out of a batch of 113 in New Amsterdam we are graduating 108. In Central Corentyne we started with a batch of 112 and out of that batch we are graduating 89 and in Upper Corentyne we started with a batch of 105 and we are graduating 95. Out of the 292 we are graduating today, 45 are women.”
He also explained to the graduates that various companies were on the ground at the graduation ceremony so that upon its conclusion, the graduates could sign up to be employed with any of their choice, noting that the companies ranged from those located in Berbice as well as other areas, including Georgetown.
“Dr. Singh also told trainees that success requires hard work, noting that there is no country in the world in which money is simply shared and people don’t have to work, therefore commitment and dedication to a job is important.
“Don’t be under any illusion about success. There is no short cut. You are getting a certificate today and I am hoping that all of you will succeed. You have the capacity here to earn a decent and very respectable income but for you to earn that, you can’t turn up some days and not turn up other days.” he added, while urging the trainees to report to work on time at their prospective new jobs
Dr Singh noted that programmes like these will be replicated across the country, especially where there is a significant demand for training programmes.
Speaking about the various training programmes under his Ministry, Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton who also delivered remarks at the forum, reiterated the government’s commitment to the training and development of young people in all Regions as he alluded to the various training programmes done through the BIT over the years since the PPP/C Government assumed office in 2020, not only in Heavy Duty Machinery Operation but also other necessary areas to develop their skills and increase their chances to become employable. He listed some of the various programmes being offered in other fields by BIT. Every person trained as a heavy-duty equipment operator by the BIT is provided with a licence.
Since its reassumption to office in August 2020, government was able to create approximately 60,000 new jobs, after re-entering office at a time when the previous administration had left the country with massive unemployment numbers and large numbers of persons had lost their jobs between 2015-2020 due to that administration’s policies. The 60,000 new jobs created by the PPP/C surpasses its 2020 manifesto promise of 50,000 new jobs. Now, with the economy booming and expanding at an exponential rate in all sectors, the country is experiencing labour shortages which the Government is partnering with the private sector, other agencies and training institutions to fill.
