– graduates urged not to trade future triumphs for short-term comfort

MORE than 190 students from the Leonora Technical and Vocational Institute in Region Three, (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), graduated from programmes led by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

The graduation involved students from the Leonora Technical Institute, the Lust-En-Rust Community Development Centre (CDC), and the Fellowship Practical Instruction Centre. The ceremony marked not only the completion of the courses but also the beginning of a new chapter for the graduates.
In alignment with the government’s plan to expand technical and vocational education and enhance the employability of youths, BIT collaborated with those institutions to offer targeted skills training across a number of disciplines, including electrical installation (45 persons), furniture making (15 persons), commercial food preparation (45 persons), air conditioning and refrigeration (20 persons), general building and construction (20 persons), welding (20 persons), and heavy-duty equipment operation (47 persons).
These were designed to provide young men and women with access to quality technical and vocational education programmes while also providing them with the requisite tools for the world of work and entrepreneurship.

The ceremony featured remarks from BIT CEO, Richard Maughn. He described the graduation as a moment of triumph for graduates and the diverse communities they represent and future they will create.

He told graduates they are no longer just trainees but are now technicians, artisans, and builders of Guyana.
Maughn reminded them that their future is dependent on one individual — themselves. Encouraging them to not trade future triumphs for short-term comfort, the CEO told the graduates to

conduct self-inspections to reflect on their journeys, and make adjustments to ensure they can have a future that is prosperous.
He further urged, “Be a change in the place of work. Everyone may be coming into work and maybe idlers are not as productive as they should be, as they can be. And you might be on the sidelines and may want to complain. I would say to you, you be the change. You be productive. You be the kind of person that the workplace needs. Be the change in your home.”

Maughn disclosed that the Board of Industrial Training is thankful to the Government of Guyana for the financial resources that have been provided for investment in youth.

From 2020 to present, the Board has expended some $100,224,203 to impact the lives of Guyanese in Region Three.
The BIT head explained that such investment is to allow residents to contribute to the development of Guyana. Some 1,421 individuals from the region have been trained across several areas.
Maughn posited that it is BIT’s desire and expectation that they will keep pushing forward and become change agents, striving for excellence in everything that they do.
Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Three, Devanand Ramdatt, added to this, saying that while Guyana is growing rapidly in terms of its economy and infrastructure, it is just as important that emphasis is placed on providing training opportunities for our people and for people to grasp opportunities as they come.
He opined that there had never been a time like this, where opportunities for development are presented.

30Commending the graduates, the REO said, “There are going to be massive transformations, because you could witness, maybe on your way here, a lot happening not only in Guyana, but precisely in this region; and young people, take up those opportunities, and take them up with a sense of patriotism and a sense of loyalty, because for Guyana to develop, and for Guyana to grow, it requires the responsibility of every single Guyanese to take that up with sacredness and to take that up with patriotism and loyalty to this country.”