…36 graduate from BIT six-month course
Punctuality and passion for the job were stressed yesterday when 36 persons graduated with certificates in Information Technology and Office Procedures, after a six-month course facilitated by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) in partnership with Friendship Oxygen Company Ltd. At the ceremony, the third of its kind to be held at Gafoors Mall at Houston, East Bank Demerara, Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir told the group that they should  not only be punctual but must have a passion for their work. Nadir said that the programme is delivering individuals who are now able to function in the world of work. The Minister warned graduates that they would have to work hard to meet the high standards set by their predecessors.
Continuing, Nadir said the government has a commitment to make sure that citizens in the country play an important role, not only in caring for their families, but also in nation building. The Minister expressed confidence that just rewards would come to the country because of the programme.
Chairman of BIT, Dr. Dale Bisnauth, lauding  the programme which he said was one of the “most exciting” that the board has ever conducted, said the importance of the programme which makes young people employable, cannot be doubted. Noting the paucity of males in the graduating batch, he expressed the hope that there would be more young men graduating from the programme in the future.
Managing Director of Friendship Oxygen Ltd., Mr. Peter Assing, spoke about the high number of young people without gainful employment and the skills to acquire same, stating that there is a need to make them income earners and contributors to the economy. The programme is a way of “giving back” to the community, he noted.  Assing said the programme, along with information technology skills, offered life skills instruction such as self-discipline, punctuality, keeping deadlines and pursuit of excellence. Speaking about the importance of passion and ambition, he said ”If you shoot at nothing, you hit nothing”. He stressed that the programme aimed at reducing poverty, increasing standards of living and producing skilled workers.
Delivering the charge to the graduates, CEO of Giftland Office Max, Roy Beepat, encouraged the graduates to embrace their jobs so as not to be mediocre, stressing the importance of punctuality and of dreaming big. He said it was important to know everything in the company from the “washroom to the boardroom”, regardless of one’s designation. He urged the graduates not to run away from pressure.
The programme was launched by the government in June 2005, to address the problem of young people who were unable to acquire jobs because they lacked the necessary skills to function in the world of work.