PRESIDENT, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, during a recent virtual address to graduating students of the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC), urged them all “to seize the moment and not wait on opportunities to fall into their laps, but to aggressively go after them.”

According to President Ali, in this world you find two types of persons: those who sit and wait for opportunities to come their way and those who go out and aggressively seek those opportunities. I encourage you to stride boldly into the future. Be masters of your own destiny.’
This advice to our graduates could not come at a better time when opportunities for young people to climb the ladder of success have never been greater. Only recently, over 3,000 students graduated from the main campus at Turkeyen, the largest number to graduate in the history of the university.
Under the GOAL project, hundreds more graduated from reputable universities and colleges across the globe at no financial cost to themselves. Such opportunities for upward social mobility is laudable and are unavailable in some of the more affluent societies.

The importance of having an adequate number of graduates to man the country’s modernisation process currently underway cannot be overemphasised. The labour market environment in terms of skills-set is changing, thanks to the impact of oil and gas on the economy.
This fact has been recognised by President Ali and the PPP/C administration. Several initiatives are being taken to address this changing dynamic in the labour market.
A training institution is being established at Port Mourant to provide skills for the oil and gas sector. Such training falls under the remit of the National Training Institute, which is the brainchild of President Ali.

Building human-resource capacity is closely aligned with the government’s Local Content Act which gives preferences to Guyanese. It is precisely in such a context that the call by President Ali for Guyanese to become proactive and seize the moment has to be seen and appreciated.
Education however is not an end in itself. It is the means to a much greater end, namely, the empowerment of people and allowing for better and wiser choices both at a personal and collective level.

In this regard, the value of education goes beyond preparing persons not only for the world of work, but also to strategically position them to take advantage of what the environment has to offer.

There can be no doubt that opportunities in Guyana abound, but as President Ali noted, it has to be aggressively pursued, especially in the context of an increasingly competitive economic environment. As the saying goes, education is power. One cannot be educated and poor at the same time.
It is not without significance that the largest batch of graduates from the University of Guyana is taking place as the university is celebrating its 60th anniversary since its establishment. The theme for the celebration is “Constantly We Rise; Changing the World in Infinite Ways.”
This theme is most apt, having regard to the monumental changes the country is currently experiencing and the infinite opportunities which abound, as the country advances in the direction of ‘One Guyana’ as envisioned by President Ali.