Gov’t Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Strategy

Georgetown, Guyana – (August 19, 2016) EMPLOYMENT is essential to human development as it provides financial resources for the generation of sustainable livelihoods, thereby improving the standard of living and quality of life of people. In Guyana, youth unemployment remains a central issue affecting young people. Recognising this, President David Granger and his administration have designed a two-pronged approach to youth empowerment.The first approach to tackling this endemic problem is education. While job creation is fundamental, the development of a qualified work force, ready to meet the developmental challenges of the country, is critical if generations of young people are to be employable and able to take advantage of entrepreneurial opportunities. President Granger has lamented the significant issue of school dropouts, pointing out that an average of 4000 children drop out of school each year and of those who do complete school, many do not matriculate or achieve enough passes to make them employable.

“Education is one of the state’s most important functions. Education unlocks opportunities for young people who must be prepared to grasp opportunities for self-employment. They must be educated if they are to improve their performance and acquire the correct attitudes, values and skills to secure employment,” the President said.
EMPOWER GENERATION
While training and vocational education will no doubt empower a generation of talented young people, who just needed a second chance, the administration has demonstrated that it is interested in inculcating a culture of industry and entrepreneurship. In this regard, programmes have been developed to provide the necessary support for budding entrepreneurs, while others focus on skills training to aid in employment ability. One such initiative which looks at vocational training is the Hinterland Employment Youth Service (HEYS), which was launched in October last year. This is an exchange programme where persons teach, discuss, learn and exchange experiences and knowledge in order to improve their standard of living and contribute positively to the development of their communities.
The programme includes training and capacity-building in several key areas including plumbing, carpentry, sewing and wiring among many other vocational areas. It targets 2000 youth in 106 communities across the hinterland regions and is in keeping with President Granger’s promise of improving lifestyles and standards of living for youth and young adults who reside in the hinterland.
In the area of entrepreneurship, programmes such as the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) which was launched in December last, provide support to young people aspiring along these lines. The programme provides entrepreneurs across Linden and other parts of the Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice region the opportunity to access loans to further expand or consolidate their businesses. At that event, President Granger in his address to the entrepreneurs, said that the programme will open new doors for occupation through self-employment, adding that there are four pillars necessary for enterprise: investment, information, infrastructure and innovation. This enterprise network initiative will be replicated across Guyana in the capital towns as Government is considering budgetary allocations to make this possible in the 2017 budget. The president made mention of this plan on the August 18 edition of The Public Interest, adding that the government wants to create an environment which can provide the facilities for young people to be self-employed.
“I see an entrepreneurial country. I am very encouraged by the responses of the young people. I would like to see in next year’s budget the scheme being extended to other regions and expanded in terms of its capacity to get more young people on board,” he said. More recently, several young people were provided with funding to aid in their entrepreneurial endeavours through the Government’s Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) initiative. Through this initiative, scores of young people are given the chance to tap into resources that allow them to become business owners, or in other words, “Be their own Bosses.”
SLED initiative
The SLED initiative was launched in September last year by the Government of Guyana under the Ministry of Communities as a means of introducing job-creation measures to promote micro and small- scale enterprises so as to open opportunities for the disadvantaged and the county’s youth. The initiative has, since its implementation, enabled 99 youth business start-ups from among the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara (Region Three), Demerara-Mahaica (Region Four), Mahaica-Berbice (Region Five), East Berbice-Corentyne (Region Six) and the Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice (Region 10) regions.
President David Granger, who delivered the feature address at the event, said that the SLED Initiative is part of a programme that reinforces the administration’s efforts to stimulate economic development in communities, especially at the grassroot level. He stated that the answer to tacklingunemployment can be found through investments in education and entrepreneurship.
Speaking on entrepreneurship, he said that this will stimulate employment within industries, including agro-processing and micro-industries in rural and hinterland communities. “Entrepreneurship will be promoted, so that more persons, including young people, could start their own businesses and become self- employed,” he said. Minister of Communities, Mr Ronald Bulkan, in his remarks, said the provenance of the SLED initiative is contained in the vision of President David Granger, who at the time of expressing this vision was Opposition Leader, and who spoke of the challenges facing the country’s young people, including the high rate of unemployment. He said that the beneficiaries and entrepreneurs were among the first to take advantage of this helping hand offered by the Government.
“This initiative tries to ensure that we don’t leave anyone out of the loop of having that better life,” the minister said, adding that every intervention ensures that there is a level of training, mentoring and technical support, even after the project is completed. He noted, however, that building the capacity, ability and the right to earn and sustain a livelihood of the most vulnerable in society would be futile and unsustainable, if that is not complemented by institutional strengthening at a local government and community level that can offer support mechanisms and services to strengthen local economic activities at a grassroots level. “It is in this regard that the SLED initiative is also working with communities to develop sustainable strategies for development in the form of Local Area Economic Profiles (LAEPs) and Local Economic Development Strategic Plans (LSPs). These are tools communities can use to attract investments, generate revenues and use as a compass for their short to medium-term development path,” Minister Bulkan said. To date, eight such LAEPs and LSPs have been developed in various communities.
Through the SLED Initiative, 11 groups received funding in the areas of capacity-building, training and support at the micro, small and medium- enterprise levels. Among these groups, are the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment Programme (sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development) the Plaisance/Sparendaam/Goedverwagting Development Association and the For the Children’s Sake Foundation.
Overwhelming response
Chief of Party for the SKYE Project, Ms Magda Wills, said that the USAID- funded programme had been working to help young people start their own businesses since 2011, but due to the overwhelming response over the years, ran short of funds. It was here that the SLED Initiative came in, providing an additional $22.2 million to the cause. But to speak of the SLED Initiative, is to focus on the young people themselves who benefited from the resources and funding within the programme. Youth who felt forgotten and otherwise unable to access employment due to several personal disadvantages in their lives were – through access to SLED – able to turn their lives around, and be given hope that not only could they provide for themselves, but feel as though they have the potential to make a difference in their communities.
Tiffany Peters is one such youth, who, prior to joining the SKYE programme and receiving funding through SLED, had encountered some difficulties in her own life. Tiffany was among several young people who were granted amnesty under President David Granger’s policy of giving second chances to non-violent, non-cocaine offenders. Today, she is the proud owner of a poultry farm at her home in Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara. Collette Burgess, who spent some time at the New Opportunity Corps, shared that the training taught her key life lessons in addition to helping her to start her poultry- rearing business. Akeem Williams, shared that he was once unemployed with many ideas, but was unsure as to how to bring these ideas to fruition. Today, he operates a successful business, which produces honey, peppermint, crabwood and coconut oil.
Mario Parsram lives in Sophia and through SLED funding, was able to start up his business RIO Designs, which specialises in the branding of t-shirts and other items. Adyessa Henry has been operating her own grocery store for five months now, and is grateful for the SLED Initiative for giving her the opportunity to work from home while taking care of her daughter. Such initiatives will help to mould Guyana’s future and they reinstate the government’s commitment to ensuring ‘a good life for all’ through education, employment and enterprise. Moreover, as time progresses, through the government’s commitment, we will see the introduction of more such programmes that aim to ensure that the country’s young people indeed get the chance to enjoy this good life. The President believes that such initiatives help in overcoming the problem of unemployment and will also help to create a generation of young people who will become the new entrepreneurial class.