ICT workshop aims to make Linden youths more marketable

40 youths enroll, comprise second batch of ICT trainees

─ training facilitated by Office of the First Lady, BIT and Social Protection Ministry

DPI, Guyana, Monday, January 28, 2019

Forty Linden youths on Monday were enrolled as the second batch of Information Communication Technology (ICT) trainees and will commence a month-long course at the ICT hub located in the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN).

Officially opening the workshop was First Lady Sandra Granger whose office collaborated with the Ministry of Social Protection and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) to make it possible. She commended the trainees for taking the opportunity made available through free training since the entire world revolves around ICT and therefore, it is imperative that they garner ICT skills that will make them employable and take the country forward.

The First Lady expressed her commitment to youth involvement in ICT because young people youths comprise a large section of the population and the baton has to be passed on to them to take the country forward.  “The young people of Guyana are a major part of our population and so it is a fact that you are the ones that have to take us forward and so ensure that you are equipped,” she said.

She further urged the youths to consider the training as a step to becoming rounded, marketable individuals, more so that all eyes are on Guyana and its potential oil industry.

Giving an overview of the programme was Chief Facilitator Fitzroy Younge who said that the training seeks to empower young adults including unskilled and vulnerable youths. The skills garnered will enable them to perform more effectively and allow them to improve in their employability status.

The programme will conclude on February 22 and a total of 13 courses will be offered over the four weeks. Some of these include Communication Skills, Telephone Ethics, Interviewing Tips and Time Management, Mouse Basics and Keyboard References, Introduction to Computers, Microsoft Office, Literacy and Numeracy and Sexual and Reproductive Health. A total of eight facilitators will conduct the courses and after the completion of each, there will be assessments.  Upon completion of the programme, the graduates will receive a certificate that will be BIT accredited and signed by the First Lady.

Coordinator of the workshop, Municipal Councillor Deron Adams expressed gratitude to the First Lady and by extension the government for continuing to provide support to the empowerment of the youths of Linden, even after the first programme was completed. That programme, he revealed, brought about tangible successes. The most noticeable of these is that five of the 79 participants, became peer educators and successfully organised their own ICT workshop to train other Linden youths.

That workshop saw 42 youths completing the programme, from that batch, eight have since garnered employment, five are pursuing tertiary education and two have used their training to establish their own businesses. From the first batch, 37 youths also collaborated and formed the NGO, Linden Youth Network, which has a vision statement to encourage youths to overcome challenges through ICT.

As a result of the overwhelming interest demonstrated within the communities, two initiative centres will be established in two communities. “This ICT programme is the foundation for positive change for youths…….to bridge the digital divide through training and open doors where innovative ideas will be supported,” Adams said.

Story and Images: Vanessa Braithwaite.

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