–as 292 trainee heavy-duty equipment operators graduate

THE government continues to fulfil its promises through its aggressive approach to complete initiatives and programmes, in keeping with its 2020 Manifesto promise to provide Guyanese with more jobs, particularly jobs for a new generation of Guyanese with higher education, vocational skills, and higher disposable incomes.
It was on this note that 292 additional heavy-duty equipment operators (HDEO) were on Saturday added to the country’s skilled workforce, following a graduation ceremony in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

The HDEO training programme is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Finance’s Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) and the Ministry of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT), and allows for public and private sector employment of all trainees in the respective field, especially with the country currently on a fast-paced development trajectory.
The HDEO programme targetted persons from three different areas in the region, and forms only part of the ongoing and already concluded training programmes that the administration has been implementing over the past four years across all regions of the country.

Saturday’s ceremony saw 247 males and 45 females graduating from the programme, further demonstrating the government’s aim to include women in all fields of employment, as well as empower them through access to education, training and employment.
It comprised persons from New Amsterdam, Hampshire and Upper Corentyne, as well as those who hailed from the outskirts of these communities. The programme commenced in September 2023, and lasted three months. It offered students practical training in operating the tractor, excavator, skid steer and forklift, following which they would be certified by BIT as Heavy-Duty Equipment Operators.

Delivering remarks at the ceremony, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service Dr. Ashni Singh, while congratulating the graduands, underscored that the government needs them, especially at the rate the economy is growing, in the various areas and sectors, adding that the volume of work is greater than any other time in the country’s history.
“You now have a skill to be able to take advantage of that opportunity to apply your skill to earn an income, to save up a bit, and maybe potentially at some point you can set up your own business,” the Senior Minister urged.

Alluding to the three batches the government decided to train from the three different areas in Region Six, Dr. Singh explained, “Out of a batch of 113 in New Amsterdam, we are graduating 108. In Central Corentyne, we started with a batch of 112, and out of that batch, we are graduating 89. “In Upper Corentyne we started with a batch of 105 and we are graduating 95. Out of the 292 we are graduating today, 45 are women.”
He also explained that various companies were on the ground at the graduation ceremony, so that upon its conclusion, the graduates could sign up to be employed, noting that the companies ranged from those located in Berbice, as well as other areas, including Georgetown.

Dr. Singh also told the graduates that success requires hard work, noting that there is no country in the world in which money is simply shared, and people don’t have to work, therefore commitment and dedication to a job is important.
“Don’t be under any illusion about success. There is no short-cut; you are getting a certificate today, and I am hoping that all of you will succeed.

You have the capacity here to earn a decent and very respectable income, but for you to earn that, you can’t turn up some days, and not turn up other days,” he said, while urging the trainees to report to work on time at their prospective new jobs
Speaking about the various training programmes under his ministry, Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton reiterated the government’s commitment to the training and development of young people, as he alluded to the various training programmes done through the BIT.

Since its reassumption of office in August 2020, the PPP/C government was able to create approximately 60,000 new jobs, after re-entering office at a time when the previous administration had left the country with massive unemployment, and large numbers of persons had lost their jobs between 2015-2020, due to that administration’s policies.
The 60,000 new jobs created by the PPP/C surpasses its 2020 Manifesto promise of 50,000 new jobs. Now, with the economy booming and expanding at an exponential rate in all sectors, the country is experiencing labour shortages, which the government is partnering with the private sector and other agencies and training institutions to fill.