–owing to decline in bauxite production

By Vanessa Braithwaite

EVERY year, the Linden Technical Institute (LTI) turns out over 150 graduates. This year there were 164 to be precise, and of the lot, only a handful are employed at the bauxite company in Linden, which is a significant departure from what obtained in the 1900s and early 2000s, when almost all of the students were guaranteed employment at the company. In fact, the school initially served as an institution to provide the theoretical aspect of vocational skills needed in the industry, after which the students learnt the practical at the company and then they automatically became employees.

Today, the narrative has changed significantly. In 1958, the first intake at the DEMBA Training Centre (which is what the LTI was previously called) was a small batch of 12 students, and they all sought employment at DEMBA. Today the intakes are more than ten-fold, and many of them do not set foot in the bauxite industry, which is the largest employer in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

Presently, Bosai Minerals Group Guyana has over 600 employees, and there is an active apprenticeship programme which sees a small batch of students from LTI being enrolled, and if successful, become employed at the company. The rest, however, seek employment at other expatriate companies in interior locations, or become another statistic in Linden’s high unemployment ratio.

Commendably, many students are determined not to become another statistic, and are finding innovative ways of self-employment, and have testified that while their initial goal was to be employed in the bauxite industry, they do not regret not being called after an interview, since being their own boss is way better.

One of those youngsters is Rawle Hinds, who completed his courses in Internal Combustion Engine and Motor Vehicle Works in 2012. He was placed at a mechanic and body work shop as an apprentice, but was eventually laid off. Deciding not to sit on his laurels and become another statistic, Hinds decided to use the training he got at LTI to commence his own mechanic operation in his yard. This move would have attracted previous clients that he worked for at his former place of employ, as well as new ones. In the interim of attracting enough clients to make it his sole means of earning, he worked taxi with his car, but now that things are better at the mechanic shop, he is hoping in the new year to establish a more permanent setting and have a registered business, since it is presently in his yard at Lovers Lane Amelia’s Ward. He has no regrets of attending LTI, and is advising other youths to do likewise after completing high school despite the employment situation in Linden may be dismal.

He related that it was the constant playing of video games that made him develop a love for cars and engines, and because he knew what he wanted from ‘the get-go’, he made the best use of his training at LTI. “You just have to know what you want to do, and I would advise youths to attend the institution if they want to learn a trade, because the theory is very important.” Rawle said, adding: “The theory helped me a lot in my career, especially the exams, because when you actually come to do the work, it becomes easier.”

DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL
He believes that the LTI gives youths like him, who may not be academically inclined, a chance to do something meaningful, and more so, be their own boss.
Another former student of LTI was Steve Marks, who studied welding and fabrication at LTI, and was also able to start up his own business with the training he received. He said that his skill is the only means of providing for his family, and after completing about eight months of an apprenticeship programme, he decided it was time to go on his own.
“I decided that I want to go on my own,” Steve said. “I decided that I can do this on my own, so I went on with a little savings that I had, and invested in my own welding machine and I started many projects because of the love I have for the work,” he related. Marks’ clientele soon grew, and pretty soon, everyone was hiring him to fabricate portable shops, grills, centre table designs etc. While he, too, was hoping to be employed at the bauxite company initially, he does not regret attending LTI and learning a trade, and is advising youths in Linden to put all negative thoughts aside and do the same, as they too can become self-employed.

“It was a great step for me, and I would advise any young person in Linden to go to LTI and pursue a skill, as it is one of the best gifts one could get. More so, there are more companies and so coming to Guyana that need skills in the oil and gas industry. And I would advise them to do something that you enjoy doing; choose a trade that you love, because, if you love it, you will take pride in what you do.”
Last week at LTI’s graduation, guest speaker Pastor Selwyn Sills encouraged the graduates to also seek self-employment, as this will assist in lowering Linden’s high unemployment ratio. To be successful in doing so, however, he urged them to be more than vocationally-skilled.

The graduates were urged to seek out cognitive skills, which include basic literacy and numeracy skills, socio-emotional skills, which will enable them to develop interpersonal relationships in the work place, technical skills which will make them marketable in the technical fields of the oil and gas industry, communication skills, and most importantly, financial skills which will enable them to stay and grow in the market place, thus keeping ahead of their competitors.

CAPTIONS: Photos saved as: Can’t be found

a mobile shop fabricated by LTI graduate Steve Marks
Photo attached of LTI graduate Rawle Hinds fixing an engine at his mechanic operation at his home