OVER 540 students from Regions 8 (Potaro/Siparuni), 9 (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) and 10 (Upper Demerara/ Upper Berbice) stand to benefit from a US$25,000 five year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Education Ministry and the Machinery Corporation of Guyana (Macorp) to facilitate a Heavy Duty Equipment Maintenance programme at the Linden Technical Institute (LTI).This programme which is the first of its kind in the Caribbean region will be developed by the Government of Canada with CAN$19M under the CARICOM Education for Employment project through the partnership between the LTI, College of North Atlantic and the Marine Institute.

The signing of the MoU took place yesterday at Macorp at Providence, East Bank of Demerara, where Managing Director of Macorp, Mr. Jorge Medina emphasised the need for highly qualified and technical manpower, especially in light of the infrastructural development taking place in Guyana.

He pointed out that there is a need within Macorp for sufficient high technical manpower, since they unfortunately do not have enough qualified people.

According to him, this is why they need to invest in the base of Guyana’s future but they cannot do this alone, since there is a need for other agencies to come on board and work together in this regard.

Medina noted that well trained persons are looking for good opportunities and these opportunities need to be created here in Guyana in order to retain these people and enable infrastructural and economic development.

He assured that Macorp will support this programme by procuring the tools and providing the institute with adequate materials to facilitate training.
He also took the opportunity to express gratitude to Caterpillar who supported them by giving all the tuition material and the curriculum that will enable them to teach the students.

Medina stressed the importance of exposing students to the latest technology and caterpillar is supplying that type of technology for them. He thanked the Government of Canada which is working through the Marine Institute and the College of North Atlantic with the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Education and the LTI.

Meanwhile, Senior Technical Advisor for the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, Mr. Craig Morrison explained that the CARICOM Education for Employment programme which is implemented by the association is now in its third year and is the flagship Canadian programme for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

He noted that Canada has a reputation worldwide for developing TVET and over four decades the country has shared its best practices in TVET with partners across the globe, with Canadian colleges having worked with technical institutions in CARICOM to deliver a level of technical training that is setting international standards.

According to him, the programme has as its goal, developing a close collaboration between employers and government ministries and training institutions, and there is not a mismatch between the skills that are taught at the training institutes and the competencies that are needed in the workplace.

Morrison said that the Education Ministry and the Council for TVET have both been instrumental in the process, developing partnerships which are being developed by the association.

DEMAND FOR SKILLED LABOUR
He pointed out that Guyana now faces the demand for skilled labour and many high paying jobs are now vacant because there is a lack of skilled, qualified employees to fill them

However, he believes that more collaboration such as the one which took place yesterday between training and industry is starting to turn the situation around, since the programme on Heavy Duty Equipment Maintenance is good for Guyana in several ways.

According to him, technicians who graduate from this new programme will be able to find work at home, and for every graduate who stays and works in Guyana, one less foreign worker will be needed.

Morrison explained that this keeps people in Guyana, increases investment and broadens the tax base, since the more graduates who are trained and employed in Guyana will widen the base of young people who will choose to stay here and raise their families and grow the economy.

He stated that Macorp has truly demonstrated its leadership here in Guyana and they were quick to respond to the request for assistance in TVET and to work with LTI.

He also took the opportunity to commend the Education Ministry, Council for TVET, LTI, and Macorp for the spirit of cooperation that has brought them to this point.

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. Nicole Giles in her remarks at the signing ceremony said that this project will support the increased competitive, productive and gender equitable workforce in the CARICOM region.

According to her, Guyana benefits directly under this project from the partnership between the LTI and the College of the North Atlantic and the Marine Institute, and it hopes to bridge the gap that exists between employment and the technical skills required for the labour market and those acquired by graduates in secondary schools, colleges and institutes.

She added that this project will also increase employment by offering access to relevant information on TVET and Macorp and other such companies will stand to benefit when heavy duty equipment operators and mechanics are trained on state-of-the-art technology and safety and security and equipped with the skills that maximize the performance of the equipment.

CERTIFICATION TO BE RECOGNISED
Dr. Giles stated that the Heavy Duty Equipment Maintenance programme will be presented for Certification in the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) giving it much deserved recognition throughout the region.

She expressed gratitude to all those at the Canadian High Commission, Macorp and the LTI for bringing the partnership to fruition and for the concrete and tangible contribution that it will make to Guyana’s continued educational and economic development.

Permanent Secretary in the Education Ministry, Ms. Delma Nedd in her remarks on the historic occasion emphasised the important role that education plays in the development of any country, while expressing how pleased they are at the ministry to have Macorp partner with them in the development of technical education.

According to her, this initiative shows them that Macorp would have seen the importance of public/private partnership and for that the ministry is extremely grateful.

Nedd maintained that this is an opportune time for the ministry and by extension the Government of Guyana to ensure that youths can have a skill set and the competence to have a job opportunity out there in the world of work

She thanked the Government of Canada as well as Caterpillar and Macorp for their support as they look forward to continuously developing the students with the requisite skills for employment which by extension will facilitate the development of Guyana.

Meanwhile, Principal of the LTI, Mr. Dennis Jaikarran said that LTI is grateful to the government of Canada and Macorp for their support in the partnership arrangement and he expressed gratitude to them.
According to him, at the LTI they are advancing the cause of technical education in Guyana, and partnerships with agencies overseas and locally would have allowed them to grow and they want to continue to grow in many other ways.

He assured that the LTI is going to take up the mantle to ensure that they face those challenges such as the lack of skilled labour in the workforce.
Jaikarran posited that if there is going to be any sustenance of any partnership there must be an equal and corresponding duty on both parties and agencies to maintain, build and strengthen that partnership.
He added that the LTI is open to support from other agencies, while expressing hope that those agencies which have not yet come on board will do so shortly.
However, he said that they are pleased to get the opportunity to continue this growth so that they can take technical education to where they want to take it in Guyana.

Jaikarran offered congratulations and gratitude to Macorp, Caterpillar and the Government of Canada and all those who would have contributed to making the partnership possible.
Written By Chriseana Ramrekha