According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release this achievement marked the first round of a pioneering course that started in 2009 for students to be trained in heavy-duty equipment operations. It emerged out of a recent challenge by Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn who had highlighted that there is a demand for at least 300 persons with experience in the heavy-duty equipment operations in Guyana. The programme equipped 148 persons during 2009.
It began with a recruitment drive for persons from the Linden and riverain areas. Sixteen participants were drawn from the Muritaro area including some from Kumaka, Lower Kara Kara and Rockstone. The 60 students were trained in groups of threes. One batch began in August and the other two in October. Over the three-month period the students were exposed to 300 hours of theoretical and practical training in operation of the Bobcat. The training involved machine checking, defensive driving, equipment maintenance, safety regulation and remedial training. At the end, students who were successful were licensed. GINA said during the programme students were given a stipend of $4,000.
While presenting his Project Report at the graduation ceremony held at Watooka House Board of Industrial Training (BIT) Board Member and Principal of the Linden Technical Institute Michael Turner was happy to report that all 60 students achieved 100 per cent passes.
Meanwhile, in his address Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir said the NTPYE is one of the stellar programmes his ministry hosts. He was pleased to hear about the students’ success which he said demonstrated their commitment to the programme. “You have now a very marketable and valuable skill; the skill of a heavy duty equipment operator… The skill that you have just acquired is one that will not make you a millionaire next week but certainly provide a strong platform from which you can build a solid future,” Nadir said.
The minister also highlighted the importance of the programme in giving youths an opportunity to gain employable skills and a second chance at education, especially for those who were not successful in other endeavours. Government is investing $50M in the programme and as such Nadir urged students to commit to the sessions as they will benefit them in the long-term.
Similar sentiments were expressed by BIT Chairman Dale Bisnauth who delivered a motivational charge to the graduates, calling on them to pledge to use their skills to further develop Guyana. Prime Minister Samuel Hinds also delivered remarks at the ceremony, saying that youth empowerment is an integral part of government’s development agenda.
“We are interested particularly in getting the young people trained to develop the country. Why do we have young people coming up in a country? To work and develop it and take over from us, the older generation,” he said. Hinds said with big developmental plans in the future such as the Amaila Falls hydropower project, a significant number of jobs in the construction industry will be opened up and will require skills which students of the NTPYE possess.
GINA said in the first quarter of 2010, 112 students are to graduate from Region Ten while 412 single parents will being trained in the other aspect of the programme that caters for them. These graduates will add to the 275 single parents that have already been trained. The courses offered in this programme are catering, garment construction, hospitality, information technology, office procedures and computer repairs.
The single parent component of the programme became a reality after the collaboration among the labour and human services ministries and BIT. Only recently 108 single parents graduated from the programme offered in regions five and six.
