Government to establish Guyana Youth Service -to consolidate youth programmes, organisations

Georgetown, Guyana – (February 7, 2018) President David Granger, today, convened a ministerial meeting to discuss the establishment of the Guyana Youth Service (GYS), the body that will be responsible for consolidating all of the youth programmes and organisations to offer a standardised education and training curriculum and is expected to significantly improve youths’ marketability and prospects for gainful employment.

The Ministers who attended the meeting at State House were Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Mr. Sydney Allicock, Minister of Social Protection, Ms. Amna Ally, Minister of Education, Ms. Nicolette Henry, Minister of Public Affairs, Ms. Dawn Hastings-Williams and Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton, under whose responsibility the GYS will fall.

President Granger said that the end of the training offered by the GYS, a graduate must be able to employ him or herself as well as be qualified to find employment in any organisation. He noted too, that while the GYS will fall under the purview of the Social Cohesion Ministry, there will be formal and informal liaisons with Ministries that are currently involved in implementing youth programmes.

Some of youth programmes to be consolidated include the Hinterland Employment and Youth Services (HEYS), the Youth Entrepreneurship and Skills Training Programme (YEST), the President’s Youth Choice initiative (PYCI), the President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG), the Youth Apprenticeship and Entrepreneurial Programme (YAEP), the Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) Initiative, the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment (SKYE) and the Guyana Youth and Social Entrepreneurship Programme (GYSEP).

President David Granger meeting with his Ministers at State House to discuss the establishment of the Guyana Youth Service.