APPROXIMATELY 42 students are now certified in a series of vocational courses through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

On Wednesday, February 20, 2019, youths from Lethem were presented their certificates after successfully completing courses offered by the BIT, as part of its National Training Project for Youth Empowerment Initiative.

Among the senior functionaries who attended the graduation ceremony were the Chief Executive Officer, Richard Maughn; Regional Education Officer of Region Nine, Ms. Kateri Joseph; Senior Technical Officer of the BIT, Mr. Rondell Jordan; Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Protection, Mohan Ramarattan and the Chairman of BIT, Mr. Clinton Williams.

According to the senior technical officer, three years ago, BIT embarked upon the training of 43 youths, 37 males and six females. They were trained in the fields of Heavy-Duty Equipment Operation and ICT. In addition, they were taught Mathematics, English Language, and exposed to training related to micro business.
The youths were urged to maximise their potential and take life seriously. They were also urged to take advantage of opportunities to further develop themselves.
The students were actively engaged in 120 hours of life-skills tutoring and 1080 hours of training in heavy-duty equipment operations and ICT. The programme lasted for a period of four months.

Presenting the feature address to the graduates was Mr. Clinton Williams, the chairman of BIT, who mentioned the importance of youth empowerment and told the students about the importance and significance of their future and Guyana’s.
He also noted that the programme was not limited to Region Nine, but would be conducted in several parts of the country.