THE Bertram Collins College of the Public Service hosted its third annual graduation ceremony on December 12, 2019, at the College’s auditorium, Ogle Estate. The ceremony saw 56 persons, who will transition into the Public Service, graduating from the institution.
The training programme lasted for one year, which featured six months of academic work, two months of study tour, and four months of work attachment. The students of the institution hailed from nine of the ten administrative regions, excluding Region Nine.
The College of the Public Service is the brainchild of H.E. President David Arthur Granger. In outlining his vision for the College on May 21, 2015 to Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and all heads of Units in the Public Service, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, the President stated that the College would undertake the training of “everyone entering the Public Service”, and stressed that a properly functioning public service is vital to the smooth running of any country.
The staff College is therefore meant to transform the public service into a professional institution that will serve the citizenry of Guyana with integrity, impartiality and objectivity; allowing for a trained, efficient and “unbribable” Public Service.

Minister of Public Service, Hon. Tabitha Sarabo-Halley delivered the charge at Thursday’s graduation urging the graduates to be the change agents they were meant to be. She further encouraged them to make the best of the opportunity they were given, to ensure that they play a pivotal role in shaping the way the Public Service in Guyana operates in the future.
“When this government took office one of its intention was to revamp and improve efficiency in the Public Sector. Against this backdrop, the Bertram Collins College was birthed to train young people desirous of joining the Public Service. This vision was materialized not only because there were young people yearning for the opportunity but largely due to the brilliant minds of staff who willingly came on board to support the vision of His Excellency, President David Granger,” Halley stated.
Minister Halley also related that although the school was doing an excellent job in its third year of existence, the vision of President Granger and her was to have the institution continually advanced and adapting to the changes that would be required to ensure the Public Sector functions at the highest possible level.
“This institution even as it expands will provide well-trained cadets, initially, and later managers, specialists, research administrators who will lead direct and execute economic transformation funded by resource revenues but they will be focused also on renewable energy and other technological dynamic industries which will bring about a diversified economy.
“It is the vision of the president as well as mine that the Bertram Collins College would be the premier training institution for all levels of the public service in this country,” Halley said.
Further she told the graduates that, as they move into the world of work, they must make the relevant decisions to ensure that they are effective as they serve in their varying capacities within their organizations.
The valedictorian, Reavon Schultz, spoke about her experience, “It was a sacrifice, many days I wanted to quit. There were days when I felt like going home and never returning, but, as we have been told many times, perseverance brings success and I knew that the completion of this programme would prove extremely beneficial to me in the future.”
She also praised the members of staff attached to the college, explaining that they were very welcoming and warm to them, “A lot of us were away from our families and the staff members looked out for us like we were their family members, they made us comfortable and made sure we were taken care of.”
She lauded the work attachment that she and fellow graduates were exposed to, which allowed them to see how the theories they had been learning for the past year would be applicable in ensuring the public service was run efficiently and effectively.
Some of the areas of study the students were exposed to included:- Economics, public accounting, politics and international relations, communication studies, Spanish, information technology, customer service and ethical considerations, leadership for the public service, and several other programmes that relate directly to the public service industry.