IN observation of International Youth Day 2026, the Minister within the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport Steven Jacobs appeared alongside Guyanese creatives on “Youth Now” on Wednesday offering advice to youths, and encouraging them to work hard and pursue as many opportunities as they can.
According to Minister Jacobs, in Guyana, there is an overwhelming number of opportunities currently available for young people spanning across a number of government ministries.
“And, like I said earlier today, it’s multi-sectorial, because we can look at training, for instance, the BIT programme. Our training programmes at the ministry are in carpentry, in welding. You can look at the nursing programmes. You can also look at the pharmacy assistant programmes through the Ministry of Health. I can go down a long list. You can look at the Young Influencers programme that the Ministry of Human Services currently is doing. You can also look at what the president is doing with his advisory council. Amazing opportunities,” Minister Jacobs highlighted.
Along with this, the minister spoke on the soon-to-be-opened Guyana Development Bank.
Calling it an opportunity for young people, and generally all of Guyana, the minister said the bank can lead to the creation of generational wealth, opportunities for employment and opportunities for the development of individuals and their businesses.
The Orange Economy is also being developed, with scores of creatives being included in this current phase of consultations.
“It is amazing what is happening in this country in relation to transformation. Yes, on the physical infrastructure. But if you look at the soft skills that are being developed, you have now free education, you have the GOAL scholarship with over 38,000 benefitting. So, it is building complete individuals, complete citizens for this country. But the opportunities are amazing and it will continue to grow,” he said.
Further, he said that Guyanese youths have access to direct areas that they can look for these opportunities through the ministries of Health, Education, and the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning, all of which have a host of youth programmes and initiatives.
“Tap into those programmes and make sure you take up those initiatives,” he encouraged, adding, “Know that His Excellency President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and the entire government will continue to make sure that the opportunities are there and their voice, voices will be heard.”
Additionally, he shared life lessons he learnt along the way, as a cricketer, businessman, and now a public servant. “I honestly believe that people are rewarded based on what they put in. And that is a significant trait that I have learned right throughout my entire life, up to today.”
He stated that once young people develop the trait of discipline, they will be successful in their ventures.
Along with this, he mentioned perseverance, stating that this was a lesson he learned at the start of his business in December 2018.
“I invited everyone that I could have possibly thought about. But then, on that day, we had two persons that showed up for the opening of Jacobs Jewellery,” he said. “That was a deflating moment for me. Deflating moment, but it taught me something. It taught me that in order for you to succeed, you need to persevere.”
While in cricket there were disappointments, he said that the business world was a different territory, teaching him how to not only persevere, but also how to be strong, how to analyse situations and then see where he can improve.
