Instant certification for skilled technical, vocational workers
Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton
Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton

PERSONS informally trained in technical and vocational skills now have the opportunity to receive instant certification from the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) in their area of specialisation without the need to undertake academic training in those areas.

This new programme, the Prior Learning Assessment Recognition (PLAR), is set to target locals specialised in areas ranging from masonry, carpentry, electrical installation, welding and fabrication and all other areas of technical and vocational areas of specialisation.

The project, which was launched on Monday, is being rolled out by the government through the Ministry of Labour, and the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) Guyana.

Participants at the lunch of the Prior Learning Assessment Recognition (PLAR) on Monday (Delano Williams photo)

According to Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton, this new initiative was created with the idea of taking the skillset of locals, and providing them with certification that would validate those skillsets in Guyana’s booming service sector.

He noted that the certification would allow persons who have years of experience in the vocational and technical sectors the chance to enter the job market, locally, with the necessary certification that would validate and support accurate remuneration based on their skillset.

The Labour Minister reminded those at the launch that 70 per cent of learning comes from working on the job, or from the practical experiences of a worker.

“Right Learning Assessment and Recognition creates a system of equality and equity for the conferring of vocational credentials service delivery in Guyana on who choose to acquire skills outside of the classroom setting,” the Labour Minister said, adding that this initiative will allow Guyanese easier access to job opportunities in various sectors within Guyana. He noted that the government is committed to ensuring that all Guyanese citizens have the chance to qualify themselves, and is cognisant that many of the persons in these sectors may not be willing or able to undertake an academic course or courses to achieve certification.

Chief Education Officer Dr. Marcel Hudson

“When we speak about development, you can’t discuss development and you’re not developing if you’re not discussing academic and vocational education in the same breath,” Minister Hamilton said.

Chief Education Officer Dr. Marcel Hudson echoed similar sentiments, saying that revitalising the local education sector to cater to vocational and technical education must come with a platform to qualify persons who have qualified themselves in these areas through practical training rather than just theory.

Dr. Hutson noted that the ministry is committed to giving those persons the chance to be qualified, by utilising their years of experience in the same way that persons qualified in a technical or vocational institution would be qualified.

BIT CEO Richard Maughn

“I’m happy to be recognising the importance of this programme,” Dr. Hutson said, adding: “We have lots of persons who have a skill or skills, but they’re not recognised because they are not certified. But I believe that this programme will serve to give credence to those persons who are skilled and may not even understand the importance of the contributions, and they are related to the development of the nation. So I am glad that we are undertaking this programme.”

According to BIT Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Maughn, this certification programme will not just help to open the door for job creation for these skilled persons, but will also directly impact their ability to be promoted and renumerated based on their skillset.

“Once we implemented prior learning assessment, many persons who are being rejected who are not able to get into some of the international companies operating in Guyana, you will no longer have this problem,” Maughn said, since the certificate is regionally and internationally recognised.

This certification is expected to lead to the reduction of the percentage of locally uncertified skilled workers.

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