Practical instruction centres in Regions One, Three to be completed by July

Thousands of young people will soon have the opportunity to upskill themselves to enter the working environment, as several Practical Instruction Centres (PICs) will soon be completed.

Work is currently ongoing on centers at the North West Secondary School, Region One and Fellowship, Region Three.

Speaking with DPI recently, Dr. Ritesh Tularam, Deputy Chief Education Officer (DCEO) with responsibility for technical education, said the initiative will provide quality skills training in various occupational areas to satisfy the direct needs of the respective communities.

He said the move is government’s way of recognising the contribution of Technical Vocational Educational Training (TVET) to Guyana’s development at the social and economic level.

He said the centers will offer programmes to students, school drop-outs, and women and girls, among others. 

“Once we complete them (PICs), and hand them over to the Ministry of Education, we can move swiftly, come September of this year, start to implement the respective Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) (Level One) programmes in those areas.

As I said, those institutions are strategic, in terms of their design, purpose and our intention, because ensuring training is disseminated to students, to trainees, the persons within those institutions, within those areas. And this is where the Ministry of Education is headed in another five years or so,” Dr Tularam stated.

The education ministry intends to implement CVQ programmes in every secondary school, to ensure the nation’s future leaders become well-rounded individuals. Dr. Tularam said this step, however, can be quite tricky to implement especially in communities as there is still stigma attached to TVET education.

He is encouraging persons to participate in the programmes, which he said will benefit them, and the country, as a whole.

“Students can use that qualification, and they can have the mobility that we are talking about, because of this recognition hence these projects or schools under this project will make that significant impact in aiding or realising the ministry’s vision to provide quality, equity, and relevance of technical education.”

The programme is made possible through the Guyana Skills Development and Employability Project (GSDEP) funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).