Linden Mayor urges youths to become innovators – as a means of arresting unemployment
DPI, GUYANA, Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Young people are being called on to become innovators as a means of addressing the high youth unemployment rate in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell.
The charge came from newly-elected Mayor Waneka Arrindell who observed that Lindeners needed to create their own ventures that will benefit them, and the region as a whole while solving the issue of youth unemployment.
“We (residents) cannot wait on the government to open new agencies (in Linden) as a way to provide job opportunities, we (Linden Mayor & Town Council) want our young people to become innovative and creative to come up with their own ideas that they can do in the community.”
In an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Mayor Arrindell said it has been recognised that every year an estimated 15,000 students graduate and are unable to be gainfully employed. In an effort to address this, the Linden Mayor & Town Council has been considering alternative methods of employment for these persons.
Mayor Arrindell explained while there is ongoing training for persons who are desirous of becoming entrepreneurs, residents must invest into the community for it to develop. She noted that young hardworking Lindeners can be found in organisations across the country, as such she is hopeful persons will come on board the initiative and become entrepreneurs.
On a recent sensitisation outreach to the mining town, Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton had charged the young people “to be their own bosses”. The minister, who also has responsibility for Culture, Youth and Sport, acknowledged that the issue of unemployment among the town’s youth population is a testing one, nevertheless, he urged the youths to move away from the idea of working for others and to consider becoming young entrepreneurs. He also encouraged the Linden youth to take full advantage of the programmes provided by the Department of Youth, to assist in their first steps towards entrepreneurship.
By: Neola Damon