THE Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) and the Statistical Unit of the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security have collaboratively embarked upon a crucial skills needs survey of the productive sectors of the economy, focusing on manufacturing, hospitality, construction and engineering, and commerce.

The key objective of the survey is to obtain critical information on the actual level of skills’ shortages and skills’ availability in Guyana’s labour market, and on the quality and quantity of specific skills.  Approximately four hundred (400) small- to large-scale enterprises have been identified as representative samples in the public and private sectors.
This partnership venture will benefit from technical and financial support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
According to CTVET Chairman, Mr Clinton Williams, the results of this survey will be incorporated into the revised structure for technical and vocational education and training in Guyana.
While delivering the opening remarks at a recent CTVET workshop on strategy and action planning, Williams said it is recognized internationally that the rate of any country’s economic development is inextricably linked to its productivity, international competitiveness, and capacity to build and sustain a competent workforce; and the Council for TVET is in process of introducing several innovative mechanisms to enhance vocational training countrywide. Among the initiatives is implementation of competency-based training programmes in formal and non-formal training institutions nationwide.
Simultaneously, a set of quality assurance guidelines is being implemented, and those would eventually qualify Guyana to award Caribbean vocational qualifications.
Chairman Williams noted that the main productive industries contributing to national growth over the past four (4) years are gold and diamond mining, wholesale and retail commerce, building and construction, and information technology, all of which have been averaging 20% growth rates; but despite their statistics, he said, all of these sectors have reported significant skills’ shortages, increasing skills’ poaching, and migration, which have combined to retard production levels.
He added that the traditional production sectors – sugar, rice, seafoods, forestry – have also been experiencing significant skills’ shortages which have translated into competitive disadvantages in the export market. The anticipated emergence of the new enterprises which are expected to be spin-off from oil and gas discovery, hydropower production, manganese mining and eco-tourism could exacerbate this dilemma that Williams has described as a “dire national skills’ deficiency syndrome”.
He applauded the TVET Council for launching this critical survey, and announced that arrangements are being finalized for a comprehensive IDB-funded Labour Market Intelligence Survey that will combine resources from the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security with the private sector and the labour unions.
The current demand/supply survey encompasses eight of the ten administrative regions. Emphasis has been placed on the level of demand for skilled artisans and the level/availability of trained and experienced skills.  The enumerators have been equipped with a tightly-focused survey instrument (questionnaire) to gather the required data.
The pilot survey commenced on May 15, and will expand into the full scale survey which is scheduled to be completed on August 31st, 2013. The Council intends to make this a continuous exercise, given the volatility of the local labour market. The information derived from the surveys will become invaluable to the planning and creation of new, suitable TVET and other vocational training programmes.