More youth employed in ICT
– following successful internships through the Ministry of Public Telecommunications
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Three students who recently completed an internship programme at various Information and Communications and Technology (ICT) agencies have now been placed in full-term employment. The internship is an initiative of the Ministry of Public Telecommunications in its bid to develop ICT skills in youth.
One of the students, Anislsa Williamson, now an employee at Innosys, an ICT Firm dealing in Enterprise Software is encouraging other girls to get on board with ICT. “As an [software] implementor I would test the software before they’re sold,” Williamson said.
Williamson added that, initially, while dreaming of a career in accounting, ICT caught her attention and she has been able to integrate both ICT and Accounting in her daily scope of work.
The students are all recent graduates of Secondary Schools in Georgetown and were selected by their schools in March. They were identified to join internship programmes with local companies to develop their Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills.
Jeremiah Chapman, an 18-year-old tech-savvy youth employed by Brainsmart is from Lodge Secondary School. Having no formal prior ICT skills, Chapman amazed his now co-workers when he salvaged several machines and made them operable.
He described his internship stint as “pretty amazing.” “It motivated me and it helped me in a big way,” the young lad remarked.
He encouraged other young men, particularly those with artistic abilities and technical skills to be brave and get involved in ICT in areas such as graphic design and animation, citing an example of a school friend who is very talented at visual arts, but was scared to jump into formal work.
According to Chapman, his teachers were his biggest motivators. “I believe that not only me but other youths could be involved in it also I think it will be a great impact on their life,” He added.
The initiative is intended to provide secondary school students with an opportunity to interact with representatives from local leading ICT firms to spark an interest in the technological field.
18- year-old Christania Sarabo, who attended Charlestown Secondary School employed by IntelStorm, said she is quite enthusiastic about technology and so the decision to benefit from this initiative, is one she does not regret.
“I love building things, I love using my computer…the first time I came here I did graphics and animation which was amazing…they all helped they all pitched in, it was great I learned a lot of things from them,” she said.
Currently, the agency is teaching Sarabo how to program and coding among others. She encourages all especially females to get involved in ICT as long as they are passionate about technology with the spirit of creativity and innovation.
“You have to be passionate about it, you have to want it or it will break you while it is not a difficult field it is just technical,” she added.
Minister of Public Telecommunications, Hon. Catherine Hughes has previously said that by 2025, 70% of the jobs in the world would require some knowledge of ICT and has urged youth to position themselves for the opportunities that lie ahead.