YOUTHS across the town of Bartica have benefitted from a job-readiness training held jointly by private customer service solutions company, Sure-Gig; the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders.
At the St. John the Baptist Primary School in Bartica, some 63 youths attended the job-readiness workshop where they were given career coaching and other skills training, such as the creation of cover letters for their curriculum vitae (CVs).
The workshop was initiated by Sure-Gig, and is part of an over-arching programme designed to allow assessments to be done in the each region, so that projects will be implemented based on the needs of the youths in the regions.
While the programme began in Bartica, it will be extended across Guyana.
Founder of Sure-Gig, Felisha Duke-Campell, related that the company knows Guyana is plagued by unemployment issues and has decided to reach out to several stakeholders to tackle this problem.
According to the founder, the unavailability of jobs is not the only factor attributed to youth unemployment, contending that youths generally are not adequately equipped.
“What we are offering is job-readiness and self-development training through a two-year project,” Felisha said, and added that the programme targets youth unemployment, budding entrepreneurs and school-dropouts.
The Sure-Gig founder related that her intention is to make Guyanese youths marketable on the global level, since according to her, Guyanese have not been making a great impact there.
Bartica Mayor, Gifford Marshall, said the people of Bartica welcomed the initiative as it will go a far way towards positively impacting the town.
The mayor bemoaned the many social issues affecting the town and pointed out that the programme brings new opportunities for youths.
“What we intend to do for the rest of the year is to work with government and non-governmental organisations to build the capacities of our youths since there is no tertiary institution here.”
Since having a tertiary institution established in Bartica would have to be a long-term goal, the mayor highlighted that capacity-building workshops and scholarships for the youths are the short-term goals.
Project Officer within the Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, Jermaine Watson, also related that the ministry opted to collaborate with Sure-Gig because the ministry has no direct presence in the region.
“We’d like to let young Barticians know what opportunities they have available,” Watson said and noted that the ministry welcomes making youths marketable in local industries.
Watson also highlighted that the ministry has made the programme part of its calendar of activities and it has the support of the Director of Youth, Melissa Carmichael- Haynes and Education Minister, Nicolette Henry.