Youths skills training and employment expected as Waramadong Skills Training Centre near completion

DPI, Guyana, Monday, July 10, 2017

Over 600 Indigenous youths across the Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven will soon benefit from skills training. The Waramadong Skills Training Centre, a US$69, 739. project, which commenced last year,  funded through the Government of Japan Grassroots Human Security Project a is expected to be completed by this month end.

The four-year grant will allow for the live-in secondary and primary school children and other youths in Waramadong and nearby villages to benefit from skills training such as mechanical engineering, woodworking, boat building, outboard engine repairs, artistry, carpentry, agriculture, forestry and small business management.

Speaking to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Toshao of Waramadong Village, Clyde Henry, said that the building  will be completed by this month end, after which it will be furnished and commissioned.

The skills training centre is the first of its kind in the Upper Mazaruni. Toshao Henry said that the residents are excited about the project, since they believe it will further address the issue unemployment in the sub-District.

“ I am trying to push for the young people of this area to become teachers of this institution… I am really happy because this is a second opportunity for school leavers, they are now able to access skilsl training and become employable and also help to develop their community, so that is a plus for us, come next ten years back into our community and you see the transformation,” Toshao Henry emphasised.

Toshao Henry noted that this project will complement the government’s Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) which  is currently being rolled out in Wamaradong.  Over 20 youths benefitted from the first phase of the HEYS programme, some have successfully start-up their own businesses, while others have gone on to higher institute of learning at the Government Technical Institute (GTI), Toshao Henry pointed out.

The project forms part of government’s policy to ensure that skills training centres are accessible to all hinterland communities.

 

By: Synieka Thorne