–programme to commence in first quarter 2024, Minister Parag says
FORMER Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag, on Friday, said that as part of the ministry’s 2024 mandate, they are looking to have persons in the public sector trained in Spanish.

The minister, who was recently appointed Local Government and Regional Development Minister, made this announcement at the ministry’s end of year press conference for 2023, where she said that the government is focused on upskilling the public sector.

She said that the ministry has begun a partnership with online learning platform, Coursera, to ensure that public servants are versed in the language of Spanish.

“In 2024, the Ministry of Public Service’s mandate through Coursera will be to train all public servants in Spanish… and we have already begun that partnership,” she said.

When asked by reporters when this programme will commence, Parag noted that the programme is scheduled to start around March 2024 and will run for about 16 months.

She added: “We will advertise, persons would be able to apply through an online process and Coursera has their requirements for the programme as well.”

Further, Parag added that this plays into the development and modernisation path that the government is currently on, and, as such, wishes not to have public servants left behind in this development.

The programme will not be mandatory; however, public servants will be encouraged to join and upskill themselves.

This move is in line with President, Dr Irfaan Ali’s vision to foster integration with South American partners and ensure that persons are competitive internationally.

Just last year, President Ali announced that as part of the government’s commitment to enhancing education at all levels, Spanish would soon be a mandatory subject from the primary school level.

At that time, he said, that the government will engage bilateral partners to support Guyana with the necessary human resources for the process to commence.