–President Ali says

OVER 50 youths will soon be part of a skills development programme, according to President, Dr Irfaan Ali.

He made those remarks during an impromptu community visit to Kitty.

As the President walked through Alexander Street, he saw a group of youths in conversation and decided to approach them.

“I want our youths to be engaged in a skills development programme; so right now, we have a shortage of machine operators, welders, construction workers,” he remarked.

The Head of State told the group that Monday, a team led by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson, along with Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar will be meeting with the youths to discuss a way forward.

Additionally, he urged the young men to think about life and become a key component of this opportunity.

“I want all of you to be registered in a training programme and we are going to get you employed after,” Dr Ali related, adding that a stipend will be given to participants during their course of training.

He then went on to say that persons who already possess a skill, especially in the area of construction, will be “absorbed into the housing sector.”

In 2023, a grand total of 4,444 individuals from all 10 administrative regions successfully completed free skills training programmes organised by the Ministry of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

BIT certified 187 individuals in Region One, 646 in Region Two, 320 in Region Three, 1,224 in Region Four, 254 in Region Five, 697 in Region Six, 265 in Region Seven, 118 in Region Eight, 190 in Region Nine, and 543 in Region 10.

The programmes being offered have enabled the graduates to take on independent projects for personal growth while earning an income.

BIT has certified about 11, 275 persons in various occupational areas in three years.

The agency offers a slew of courses, including fibre optic installation, building construction, boat building, welding, and fabrication, cosmetology, electrical installation, heavy-duty equipment operation, early childhood development, and commercial food preparation, among others. People who wish to complete more than one course through BIT can do so without any difficulties.

However, they must pursue a course that complements their certification.

Last year, Dr Ali disclosed that more than US$100 million will be invested to offer free training in several sectors.

“We are spending more than US$100 million on creating a new state-of-the-art national skills-training centre, not only for the oil- and-gas sector, but for every single sector in our country, and every single skill that will be required to take our country forward,” Dr. Ali said.

The proposed national skills-training centre is to be established at Port Mourant, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

According to President Ali, persons interested in obtaining such skills will be trained free of cost, as the initiative is intended to contribute to the ongoing economic expansion taking place across all the country’s sectors.

“We have already granted more than 26,000 scholarships under the GOAL scholarship programme. Before 2025, every Guyanese will have free university education in Guyana… This is a journey of development,” he said.