CUSO (Canadian Universities Services Overseas)’s objective of improving vocational training offered youths in Guyana is closer to realisation, with Guyana Goldfields/AGM Inc. injecting over $8M in its ReTool project for the introduction of an Occupational Health and Safety programme at the Linden Technical Institute (LTI).The programme will be spearheaded by a trained CUSO volunteer, come September.
An official contract was signed Tuesday in the presence of Country Manager and Senior Vice-President Violet Smith of AGM Inc.; LTI Principal, Denis Jaikarran; and Cuso’s Caribbean

Representative Taramattie Persaud to mark the beginning of the two-year programme, the first ever of its kind.
The programme will feature internationally acceptable levels of safety training for tutors and students and the monies allocated will redound to the benefit of the overall programme.
This collaborative approach between a private sector entity, a Government training institution and an international development agency, will ultimately benefit the youths of Linden along with the student population of LTI. On the other hand, Guyana Goldfields will gain prospective and qualified employees in the field of occupational health and safety.
The Re-Tool Guyana project—re-invigorating training opportunities and occupational l earning in Guyana—is designed by Cuso and will be able to achieve its programme objective of improving vocational training offered youths.
This partnership, said Persaud, fits perfectly with Cuso’s strategy in Guyana and in the Caribbean which focuses entirely on social and economic empowerment of youths and women by improving their employment status and supporting the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
The LTI will therefore have an increased capacity to provide market- based training to young women and men, by providing training to lecturers to deliver the curriculum on Occupational Health and Safety.
This, Persaud explained, is an important component of the partnership, since training the lecturers to teach the curriculum would ensure there is sustainability after the Cuso volunteer has concluded his/her stint.
With the funds provided for introduction of this programme, Persaud asserted that Cuso’s strategy will be achieved by refining professional training, career and life skills of youth and women.
Prior to the affirmation of this programme, several consultations were held with the LTI administration and AGM Inc.’s Corporate Social Responsibility Department to arrive at collaborative initiatives that could result in the preparation of students for real -world work challenges.
It was then recognised that students would not emerge as “technically qualified” once there is lack of a safety culture, which is necessary for today’s competitive work environment. As such, this provoked the exploration of such a curriculum intervention, said the officials.
Both Smith and Jaikarran joined in encouraging the students and faculty of LTI to take full advantage of the opportunity to acquire this unique skill set.
Cuso International has over 50 years of experience in promoting sustainable development through the placement of volunteers in order to lift industrial standards.