-President Ali says last effort being made to ‘comb the country’

GUYANA is still struggling with a shortage of labour to meet growing demand and as a result, the government will be making a last effort to comb across the country with the hope of finding as many Guyanese as possible to fill the void.

This is according to President, Dr Irfaan Ali, who during a press conference on Friday in Region Six responded to questions about complaints from the private sector in that region about the shortage of the much-needed labour to match the rate of the construction boom being fuelled by the massive infrastructural development.

The Head of State explained that the issue is not confined to Region Six alone, as it is an issue facing all regions due to the ongoing countrywide development.

“Our country is going through a very important phase and this phase requires more from each of us. Labour shortage is a major, major issue that is going to face us. All private entities in the region are complaining about [the] shortage of labour. It’s a national complaint,” the President noted.

“In the housing sector and the building sector alone, in this region, we will need maybe another close to 600 skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled workers, just to deliver the houses that we plan on doing this year. Then, you multiply that across the country in every single region, you understand the net national effect.”

Since last November, President Ali had noted that the labour shortage had been slowing down work in the construction sector by as much as 30 per cent. Over the past two years, the country has been undergoing major infrastructural development to match both a massive need for housing, as well as to make up for the country’s infrastructural deficit.

The construction of houses, as well as roads, bridges and other infrastructure, has been moving at an expeditious pace. With a small population of just 750,000 people, the country is faced with an inevitable challenge of finding the necessary supply of labour and skillsets required for the pace.

Though the government has not ruled out the option of importing labour from other countries, every effort is being made to ensure that as much of the labour as possible comes from Guyana.

The government has constantly lobbied to persons during community outreaches to capitalise on the low-hanging fruit. However, the shortage continues.

“What we’re doing now is making our final effort combing across the country to see all those who are available and ready to work. We are mobilising. We are also talking to some of the persons that talked to us,” the President noted on Friday.

The call for Guyanese to fill the void has not only been limited to those at home, and, the President noted, it is being seen that Guyanese from the diaspora have started responding to the call.

“We are seeing a lot of re-migration from Suriname. A lot of skilled persons coming back from there, from Barbados, and from the Caribbean, especially. And you are seeing more of these persons appearing now which tells you that something is going on and they are responding to the opportunities back home here,” the President said.

Also speaking about the issue during a telephone interview with the Sunday Chronicle, Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton noted that his ministry is also doing its part to try to get Guyanese into filling the openings.

Through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), and Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CRMA), the ministry has continued to inform the public of the opportunities available in the construction sector.