A TOTAL of 1,080 persons will soon be direct beneficiaries of training in the areas of water and coastal management, eco-tourism, agriculture and construction.

This was disclosed when the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), the Council for Technical Vocational, Education and Training (CTVET) and representatives of the Government of Canada met to discuss the prospects of implementation of the Skills to Access the Green Economy (SAGE) Programme in Guyana, on Wednesday.

The meeting was to identify areas that can affect the smooth execution of the programme. The discussion was also centred on BIT’s Apprenticeship Programme.
The SAGE Programme, which is funded by the government of Canada, was developed in 2019 and concludes in 2024. According to BIT, its objective is to create a high-quality labour force, through the support of a demand-driven technical and vocational education and training (TVET), with the need to develop key careers.

These careers will surround the introduction of climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives across Guyana, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica and St. Lucia. The programme’s aim is to see adolescent girls and women, youths and vulnerable populations, including Indigenous People, become more competitive and adapt to climate change.
SAGE would engage the participation of at least 30 small and medium size enterprises, in gender equitable workforce by focusing and delivering a gender-sensitive skills training programme that meets economic and environmental needs in Guyana.

The SAGE Team was happy to know that the Board of Industrial Training has been providing Apprenticeship Training since 1910 in accordance with the Industrial Act, Chapter 39:04, adding to the labour force a total of 1,469 artisans within the last nine years.

According to BIT, an existing Apprenticeship Programme would provide a smooth implementation of SAGE. The Board of Industrial Training (BIT) welcomed the SAGE initiative, since it fully coincides with their plans to implement training programmes to develop skills for the engagement of ‘green’ jobs.

Further, residents of Linden in Region 10 would benefit from an agro-processing training programme scheduled to start during the month of May, 2019 under the BIT’s NTPYE training programme. BIT is calling on stakeholders to show their full and continuous support to this programme.