The Kuru Kuru Training Centre on Friday concluded its Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training 2008-2009 class with a graduation ceremony. The 10-month programme is the ninth course at the Centre which is conducted under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS).
The skills training programme which started back in September with 178 students saw 169, of which 46 were females, graduating. This year’s batch of students was the largest, according to Dennis Gillis, the Senior Training Officer of the centre.
The Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training programme provides skills training in the areas of business studies, carpentry, masonry, electrical installation, joinery, motor mechanics, welding and fabrication, plumbing and sheet metal and garment construction to persons between the ages of 16-25.
Addressing the graduates, Dr Frank Anthony, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport said, “This is a milestone in your life and all of you have done us proud.” He went on to mention the improvement of the quality of the work that the centre has offered and congratulated the teachers for having “done an excellent job”.
Anthony highlighted some of the plans that are in store for the development of the Kuru Kuru Training Centre. These include improving the curriculum and adding new skills; there are also plans for the improvement of staff training, infrastructure and the provision of electricity to the centre from the road. Development is said to be underway for a resource centre with a computer laboratory and a library.
Some of the projects, the minister pointed out, will be funded through a partnership with the UNDP. He pointed to the importance of partnerships with organisations to raise the standard of the centre so it could be equivalent to that of other Caribbean vocational centres.
While the minister advised the graduates to utilise their skills he challenged the centre to create an alumni body to “see how [the students] are progressing in the community”.
He urged them to keep up an ongoing partnership with students and challenged the school to create its own website. He also suggested that the centre “explore small loans to support students in nurturing new business”.
The Kuru Kuru Training Centre which is the offshoot of the Kuru Kuru College and the Guyana National Service was absorbed by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport in January 2000 after which it was given its current name.
Meanwhile the opening of the new dorm facility which can house 70 students and was constructed through funding from the Global Fund under the Ministry of Health was postponed owing to the fire that destroyed the Ministry of Health building. Commenting on the fire, the minister denounced “the act of arson” and called for the apprehension of those who were responsible. (Tiffny Rhodius)
