Ministry of Natural Resources launches apprenticeship programme

DPI, GUYANA, Monday, August 07, 2017

The Ministry of Natural Resources today launched its Youth in Natural Resources Apprenticeship Programme at its Brickdam office in Georgetown.

Fourteen (14) young people will participate in the three-week programme which seeks to reverse the negativity connected to the extractive sector, while at the same time stimulating interest among young people in the work of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

“The Youth in Natural Resources programme is to let you see that there is virtue in the extractive industries,” Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman told the first batch of participants.

“We want you to see that the two are not working against each other. How can we sustainably remove ore and gold and diamond from the soil and still replant and ensure that forest grows again,” is the balance that the Ministry of Natural Resources is seeking to strike in the extractive sector Minister Trotman said.

Mining, forestry and now petroleum are industries that make up Guyana’s extractive sector. The participants will travel across Guyana, visiting some of the industries like ExxonMobil’s wharf facility at John Fernandes Limited and Guyana Gold Field Mining site. They will also engage and give back to communities through various activities.

Participants of the programme shared their excitement with the Department of Public Information (DPI). For 15-year old Noel Sukhai being a part of the programme is an opportunity to see more of Guyana.

“Guyana is such a beautiful country and there are not many opportunities to explore the country,” the Essequibo native said. Sukhai is the designer and winner of Guyana’s Petroleum Commission’s logo competition.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Tiffany Caesar hopes the experience will help her to determine what study to pursue in the extractive sector. “I’m hoping to do something within this area. Maybe a chemist or a biologist in forestry,” she shared.

According to Corporate Liaison Officer Lourianne Pluck, the apprenticeship programme was launched last year by Minister Trotman, as part of the Ministry of Natural Resources’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). “The Ministry has its corporate social responsibility to give back and in giving back we have a couple of areas that we have identified,” Pluck explained. Those areas include the greening of Guyana with tree planting activities, reforestation, mentoring and a green business development plan.

The programme is being sponsored by corporations like Macorp, Farfan and Mendes, ExxonMobil, Aurora Gold Mines and Bosai.

 

By: Tiffny Rhodius