–new study finds; labour mostly needed in healthcare, agriculture sectors
–critical shortage exists for truck drivers

By Feona Morrison
A study titled, “Guyana Skilled Labour Assessment Study,” projects that during the next five years, the country’s oil and gas, construction, transportation and logistics, health, and agricultural sectors will all need an additional 53,000 workers, across the public and private sector.

Economist Dr Natasha Gaskin-Peters, the director of the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD), estimates that with the rapid pace of development, some 60,000 personnel might be required as “more and more projects” come on stream.

According to the study, Guyana’s growing economy and the need for both skilled and unskilled labour in these industries to sustain growth are the causes of this labour demand.

With funding from the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI)—a collaboration between the Stabroek Block co-venturers ExxonMobil (Guyana), Hess, and CNOOC—the survey was carried out by the CLBD with assistance from the University of Guyana (UG).

The CLBD presented the findings of the study, which came from surveys and interviews with local stakeholders, at the university’s Turkeyen campus, on Friday.

Crucially, Gaskin-Peters noted that the construction industry will need nearly 9,000 personnel over the next five years, having increased in size in the last two years.

She referred to this industry as Guyana’s fastest growing. Labour shifts from agriculture to other industries because, in Gaskin-Peters’ words, people no longer view agriculture as an “attractive sector.”

“There are quite a lot of construction activities taking place so these folks are moving into construction. They are moving into transport and logistics as well as other sectors,” she said.

The education system’s inability to keep up with the construction industry’s rapid expansion, the severe scarcity of experienced tradespeople, and the growing demand for qualified engineering experts are some of the major issues facing the industry, the report highlighted.

According to Ron Glasgow, the analytics coordinator at CLBD, the agriculture industry will require about 12,500 employees over the course of the next five years.

“We found that there is a significant need for capital investment within this sector. We believe if the sector mechanises, the need for labour in this field will be smaller,” he said.

Glasgow related that the changing face of agriculture necessitates the need for more specialised knowledge. According to him, there is a need for workers in the fields of biotechnology, engineering, data analysis, soil science, and economics. The agriculture sector currently relies heavily on semi-skilled and unskilled labour, he added.

Speaking on the healthcare sector, CLBD’s Deputy Director, Gina Arjoon said: “We are estimating an additional 20,000 workers over the next five years with 11,000 of that being nurses. Right now, we actually have a deficit of about 10,000 nurses.

“That’s a lot to think about,” she said, given Guyana is facing a number of challenges in this area.

Arjoon attributed the significant shortage of nurses to, among other things, the “professional ladder.”

“When you look at what happens…so, a nurse comes out today and they get into the system…they’re actually going to get the same benefits and wages as a nurse that would have been in the system for 20 years,” the speaker said in order to illustrate her argument.

She mentioned the need for IT professionals and personal care workers in this industry, adding that nurses are the most in-demand and hardest to fill position in this industry. It was for this reason that she called for an inquiry into nurse attrition.

Speaking about the results of logistics and transportation sector, Glasgow noted that although it has always existed in Guyana, the rise in the region’s commercial activity has brought it much more attention.

He disclosed: “Its evolution has been staggering. We have estimated around 4,500 workers demanded by the end of five years. There is a critical shortage of truck drivers… drivers as a while and this is exasperated because the other sectors demand truck drivers…”

Also, he pointed out that there is a shortage of customs brokers. He went on to reveal more findings, stating that a clear need for marine and aviation workers has never been seen in Guyana’s history. Glasgow also stressed the need for trained truck drivers and certified marine workers.

According to Gaskin-Peters, the oil and gas industry will require over 6,000 personnel over the course of the next five years.

“The shortage is really in the engineer technicians but also we see drivers and mobile plant operators popping up,” she said.

In light of this, she proposed that universities offer short courses in these fields to be able to “churn out” graduates at a fast pace. The economist said that the most difficult roles to fill in this sector are technicians, engineers and maritime practitioners.

The study lists a number of challenges facing the oil and gas industry, including a lack of experienced engineers, a shortage of skilled professionals and technicians, an anticipated increase in the demand for new hires, and a lack of institutions offering specialised nautical skills despite initiatives from the Ministries of Labour and Education.

The director of CLBD said that Guyana has a relatively small labour pool and that “we might need to import labour.”

In this situation, she said that it will be necessary to handle things in a transparent way that can account for the workers and improve the capacity of Guyanese workers.
“It means that we must have an immigration policy,” she emphasised.

Among the things she recommended to meet the labour demands were cutting the time it takes to get a degree and combining work and training at the same time.

The government has already initiated the process of addressing such issues by investing heavily in technical and vocational training; a US$13 million oil and gas training facility was recently opened at Port Mourant, Region Six.

The facility is designed to provide practical training for multiple programmes, enabling trainees to execute practice operations, troubleshooting, and maintenance activities in an environment that mirrors real-life plant conditions.

Mediums such as water and air will be used at the facility. This design is considered safe for training. Several major pieces of equipment to simulate the process conditions on an FPSO in a safe and controlled environment is also featured.

The facility can accommodate up to 24 trainees for each batch, with four trainers across four disciplines – mechanical, instrumentation, electrical, and production. The facility is designed to recognise industrial standards used in the oil, gas, and energy industry worldwide.