-President Ali underscores, says thousands set to benefit from world-class technical training
THE Government of Guyana continues to demonstrate its commitment to development through sustained efforts aimed at educating, empowering and advancing the nation’s young people. This was reinforced by President, Dr Irfaan Ali in the latest episode of “Tea on the Terrace.”
In the video, which was posted on the President’s official Facebook page, the Head of State engaged Minister of Labour and Manpower Planning Keoma Griffith and Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Susan Rodrigues on their ministries’ respective roles in advancing national development.
He also took time to interact with students of the newly established Guyana Technical Training Institute (GTTI), emphasising the significant level of investment in young people across multiple sectors.
Speaking from Berbice, which is rapidly emerging as a hub for oil-and-gas development, President Ali highlighted the scale of investment being made in the country’s next generation. He pointed specifically to the GTTI, the first of its kind in Guyana, which is expected to train thousands of Guyanese for expanding technical fields.
“We are here in Berbice, Port Mourant. This is the capital of oil-and-gas technical training in Guyana, where the government has invested tens of billions of dollars into a world-class, state-of-the-art facility to train this and future generations of top-end oil-and-gas workers,” he said. “We have commissioned this facility, an extraordinary facility, as I said, tens of billions of dollars of investment.”
Sustainable growth remains a key pillar of development and, as the President explained, efforts are underway across sectors to equip young Guyanese with the skills required for emerging industries. Sharing insight from his ministry, Minister Griffith said investments such as the training institute, along with others in the pipeline, are shaping the country’s future workforce.
“This is such a major win for Guyana. We’re not only transforming this country, but we’re also making investments that we will reap and see 10, 20, 30, 40, 100 years from now where Guyana will be firmly positioned as a technical training institute in this entire Caribbean,” Minister Griffith said.
He added that the drive is also aimed at addressing Guyana’s labour shortage. “We have a major labour shortage here in Guyana, but we are putting in investment to have that manpower and planning element so that we can catch up.”
Similarly, Minister Rodrigues shared updates on the progress of the Tourism and Hospitality Institute, which is projected for completion by mid-year. The facility is expected to serve as a source of skilled Guyanese for one of the country’s fastest-growing sectors.
“Here in Berbice we also have the Tourism and Hospitality Institute…world-class international standard hospitality institute,” she said.
Speaking directly to students at the technical institute, Minister Rodrigues added, “I hope all of these young people here today understand that this would not have been possible if you didn’t have a President who had a vision to create a Guyana that you are now living in, opening up new opportunities here at this technical training college.”
Throughout his walkthrough of the facility and engagements with trainees and trainers, President Ali underscored the tangible scale of resources being deployed. Trainees are utilising specialised machinery valued at approximately US$30,000 per unit, while advanced instrumentation equipment in the laboratories carries a price tag of close to US$180,000 each. These investments demonstrate the seriousness with which the government is approaching skills development, he emphasised.
Additionally, the comprehensive 18-month programme being delivered would ordinarily cost about US$150,000 per participant, an expense now being absorbed by government to ensure young Guyanese are internationally certified and industry ready.
According to the President, each piece of equipment and every programme introduced forms part of a deliberate strategy, not only to modernise training infrastructure, but to position the nation’s youth at the forefront of Guyana’s expanding oil, gas and diversified economic landscape.
During the episode, some of the trainees got the opportunity to relay their expectations and what this step in their educational journey means to them.
