APPROXIMATELY 15,000 Guyanese have benefitted from the government’s part-time job initiative, according to People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.

He made this disclosure during a press conference at Freedom House, on Thursday.

The PPP General Secretary explained that many GOAL scholarship recipients gained full-time jobs after completing their studies.

He related: “…We’ve had some people leaving and a few others that came on. So, that’s the purpose basically of it, to give people like, you know, like a stepping stone to a more permanent type of job.”

The part-time job initiative was launched in 2022.

According to Jagdeo, special focus is being placed on the expansion of this initiative especially in the rural and hinterland areas where persons usually encounter difficulties in sourcing regular jobs and generating income.

In May of this year, persons residing in the hinterland regions benefitted from an additional 2,000 job opportunities with the introduction of the government’s part-time jobs initiative there.

In Budget 2023, the government earmarked $10 billion to expand the programme.

The well-crafted employment initiative allows one person per household to work in public agencies for 10 days per month, and earn $40,000.

JOB CREATION

Since assuming office in 2020, more than 50,000 people have become employed.
With this goal coming sooner than expected, it marks a tremendous accomplishment for the PPP, which in its 2020-2025 manifesto, promised to provide 50,000 new jobs by the end of its first term in office.

It was also reported that unemployment rates in Guyana have been on a downward trajectory since 2021, and the government’s efforts to uplift the workforce are bearing fruit.

This is according to a recent report published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), titled ‘Regional Overview: Global and regional economies at a crossroads.’

“The unemployment rate declined from 15.6 per cent in 2021 Q1 to 14.5 per cent in 2021 Q3, driven mostly by declines in the unemployment rate of men, which dropped to 12 per cent in 2021 Q3 compared to 18.4 per cent for women. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates further declines in the unemployment rate in 2022, falling to 12.4 per cent, (11 per cent for men and 14.4 per cent for women),” the report highlighted.

The government has been on an aggressive drive to target the unemployment rate in Guyana, and this has seen rapid implementation of initiatives, such as the part-time jobs initiative, to assist persons in generating income.

Additionally, the implementation of Board of Industrial Training (BIT) programmes and the provision of over 20,000 scholarships for Guyanese have proved highly effective in enhancing the skillsets of Guyanese to increase employability.