The labour ministry has managed to place some 48 of the more than 2,000 graduates from its National Training Project for Youth Empower-ment (NTYPE) with Minister Manzoor Nadir on Saturday acknowledging that they could not guarantee jobs for all of the trainees.
Responding to a query from this newspaper the labour minister said that more than 65% of the persons trained through the NTPYE find jobs.
“Some move on to further training, while others choose not to get into the workforce. Our responsibility is training and we counsel trainees as to what skills have greater opportunities for early placement. We also like to train for jobs we know are in short supply, for example, office personnel, driver/salespersons, mechanical and building trade skills and the heavy duty equipment operator training.”
It is unclear what sort of follow-up exists between the ministry and the 2000+ graduates.
He added that they have also placed the ministry’s employment agency online and this service has already been producing better results.”
“The software will also migrate all unemployed trained persons into the database of the jobseekers and we will be better able to assist them in finding jobs,” Nadir said.
According to him, in a free society they could only advise persons but the final decisions are theirs. However, the minister added that he is “very optimistic” that there will be a “very high level of placement of the NTYPE trainees.”
Some 2044 individuals graduated from the NTYPE programme being run by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) by December 20. Speaking to Stabroek News earlier this month an official who chose to remain unnamed stated that they will be concentrating on placement this month. The official added that the programme had been run in eight regions with the exceptions being Regions 8 and 9. According to the individual, the ministry does not foresee any problems with getting the graduates placed with companies.
Some 90 areas of instruction are open to participants, the official noted, with the fields covered including engineering, information technology, agriculture, home economics and medical services.
According to the officer, those who were being trained in the use of the Bobcat machinery were snapped up by firms as soon as they graduated while in Region 6 trainees were being lured away by GuySuCo for their knowledge even before they had graduated.
In its year-end statement, the ministry said it had made progress in 2010 training more than 2,000 persons through NTYPE and over 500 single parents.
“The Board of Industrial Training continues to be a shining example of a highly successful programme for the training of vulnerable youths and women. More than $210 million expended on training in these areas in 2010. Almost twice as much as in 2009,” the statement read.
BIT was established under the Industrial Training Act and apprenticeship is regulated by the board with the entry requirements participants admitted from the 15-25 age group. According to the ministry’s website, they are required to have a secondary education and sit an entrance test.
Trainees are provided with a stipend of $4,000 a month and NIS coverage; where necessary they also are provided with basic tools and safety wear. Courses can run for periods of four months to one year with most being of a six-month duration.
Apprenticeship provides: structured on-the-job training under supervision and theoretical sessions in a technical institution; craft courses in various engineering trades; periodic evaluation of performance and progress; a progressively increasing wage structure; training from two to four years duration with exemptions granted for previous technical qualifications; a certificate of competency on successful completion of training; and employment offer after training.
Apprentices are also exposed to life skills educational classes. The youth who are targeted are between the ages of 15 and 25. Most do not have the requisite CSEC qualifications to enter the job market or they may not have completed secondary education.
