…from the national training programme for youth empowerment

ON Friday February 7, 2020, some 139 youths graduated from the National Training Programme for Youth Empowerment, under the Ministry of Social Protection’s Board of Industrial Training, with various skillsets in fields such as Information Technology, catering, cake decorating and welding.

The programme specifically targeted young people who were unable to complete their secondary education and needed a second chance at edifying themselves with the necessary skills, to venture into the world of work or entrepreneurship. The courses commenced between the period of November and December 2019, with 165 applications, from which some 39 individuals dropped out.

Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Protection, Mohan Ramrattan, during his featured address, spoke to the process of becoming stronger or more confident in controlling one’s life.

He also made note of the fact that 60 percent of the graduates were females, while stating

that he hoped young women, in the future, would take advantage of the training programmes in the non-traditional fields for women such as the welding programme.
“Goal number four of the United Nation’s SDGs is relevant to us gathered here today as it includes the promotion of life-long learning opportunities for all. Guyana is working to ensure that all citizens experience this,” Ramrattan posited.

In his final remarks, he urged the graduates to practise the teaching of Proverbs 23:12, which states, “Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge”.
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, graduating student, Keron Sampson, who performed exceptionally in the catering course, expressed, “the course was a bit challenging at first, but I broke through the iceberg and did my best. With my certificate, I am about to apply to Tower Hotel for a position as a junior chef and in the future maybe open my own restaurant,” he said.

For the past 18 years, BIT has generated over 20,660 artisans and semi-skilled workers who have been added to the workforce. However, the recent expansion of the programme, by the current Government, saw the programme reaching lengths throughout all the regions of Guyana.