ONE hundred and seventy-seven persons in Region Five, mainly youths, were on Tuesday last given certificates after successfully completing Level One training courses in various technical and vocational areas under the National Training Project for Youth Empowerment (NTPYE) programme.

The NTPYE programme from which the trainees graduated was rolled out by staffers at the Mahaicony Technical and Vocational Training Centre (MTVTC), in collaboration with the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

The trainees completed foundation courses in motor vehicle repairs, electrical installation, welding, plumbing, heavy duty machinery repairs and maintenance, data operation and general office administration.

Their certification in these areas mean that they can now proceed to gain formal entry into any of the technical institutes, where they can pursue higher levels of training leading to diplomas and then to tertiary institutions where they can obtain degrees in their professional field of interest, officials of the BIT disclosed.

The graduates can also use their new credentials to obtain employment or set up their own businesses to provide services to their communities.

The BIT falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Social Protection.
The venue of the BIT graduation exercise was the boardroom of the MTVTC and those present included parents of the graduates, friends and relatives, as well as senior staffers of the BIT and the Regional Administration of Region Five.

The participants were welcomed by Region Five administration staffer, Therese Jordan, and they were also addressed by Regional Education Officer, Deon Lyn.

Speaking on behalf of the Regional Executive Officer Ovid Morrison, who was unavoidably absent, Jordan urged the graduates not to rest on their initial achievements but to forge ahead to higher levels knowing that they will receive the fullest support of the administration and the government.

REDO Deon Lyn Lewis urged them to be professional, honest and sincere in all their endeavours and to continue to build on their accomplishments.

Project Officer Lindsworth Castello said that the BIT NTPYE programme was started in 2005 and has been getting stronger each year. It currently provides training to persons in every administrative region in Guyana.

He said the BIT NTPYE programme in Region Five started in 2014 and hundreds of young people have seized the opportunities offered to achieve the Level One or foundation training in various technical and vocational skills.

The dropout rate among participants of the programme since 2014 was 13 per cent and Castello said he was pleased to say that for the year 2018 there had been no dropouts.
He said the NTPYE programmes for 2019 will start early next year and he urged the graduates in Region Five to pass on the message that the board will welcome all applicants as it continues to fulfil its mandate for competency-based vocational training for employment of all interested Guyanese.