…urged to develop oil-and-gas industry

THE Government Technical Institute (GTI) sent off 584 students into the world of work to put to practice what they have been taught during the course of the years they spent at the institution.
At the 67th Convocation and Prize Giving Ceremony at the National Cultural Centre, on Thursday afternoon, the students graduated from the institution with support from a packed audience of friends, colleagues, lecturers, parents, guardians, relatives and well-wishers.

During her report, the Principal of the institution, Mrs. Renita Crandon-Duncan, announced that the Mechanical Department of the GTI is this year’s most outstanding division, after gaining a 92 per cent pass rate. While the Business Department was judged the most improved department for the year 2018 as there was a vast improvement in their performances.

According to Mrs. Crandon-Duncan, the total percentage pass rate for 2018 is 77 per cent, a one per cent increase from 2017’s 76 per cent and a 12 per cent increase from 2016’s percentage pass rate of 65 per cent. She said that two students of the GTI have received national awards at the GTI Education Examination among the Technical Institutes for outstanding performances. Those students were Ms. Aaliyah Noble who completed the Ordinary Diploma in Commerce programme and Mr. Shurlun Tudor who completed the Technician Diploma in Building and Civil Engineering.

Further, the principal said that the fifth batch of level one and two trainees in Competency Based Education (CBE) programmes graduated. As such, those trainees are now deemed competent after demonstrating their proficiency in the respective units of competency.

She said that 282 of these trainees were assessed and each will be awarded by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) with the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ). The principal added that through the industrial attachment programme, during the months of June and July of this year, 85 companies welcomed staff and students into their spaces and exposed them to the rudiments of industry practices.

Mrs. Crandon-Duncan explained that staff continue to benefit from training opportunities and healthy relationships have continued with industry partners.

Delivering the feature address at the graduation was the Director of the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD), Mrs. Jennifer Cumberbatch. She told the graduates that they are the generation that will take the technology of today into new dimensions while solving environmental problems.

She advised them that their contributions to society will be determined by how they follow their dreams, challenging them to follow their quest for knowledge and reminded them that education does not stop after their graduation.

They were also encouraged to reach beyond existing boundaries, “You can do anything that you put your mind to do,” Cumberbatch said.

Chairman of the Government Technical Institute and Guyana Industrial Training Centre Board of Governors, Mr. Vincent Alexander, reminded the students that the GTI should also be seen as a ‘finishing’ school. He said that during their tenure at the institution they would have undergone a process of refinement.
He told the students that not only can they now display their certification but they can also showcase their maturity when they become part of the global job market and employed in various industries.

Noting that Guyana is on the cusp of becoming an oil and gas producing nation, Mr. Alexander urged the students to take advantage of the new sector to develop Guyana. However, he advised that the development which is pursued must be done in a sustainable manner which takes Guyana into consideration beyond the oil and gas moment it is about to experience. This year’s Valedictorian, Shurlon Tudor, told his colleagues in his valedictory address that they must think about how far they would have come individually and as a class; think about how they supported and encouraged each other during sports and the fun class experiences.
“Those moments taught me that it is not just about keeping your head in the books or phone, but taking some time to enjoy life while we study,” Tudor said. He urged his colleagues to follow their dreams and to do what makes them happy. “Strive to become the best version of yourself, fly through the turbulence and live life intentionally because you are a warrior, be phenomenal or be forgotten.”