The Government is committed to working towards the provision of an enabling environment for job creation for young Guyanese, President David Granger has said even as he discouraged them from seeking state jobs.
“The Government has to work with the private sector. There is no way that the Government could give each and every person a job. What the Government does is create an environment and by working with civil society, by working with employers, and by introducing policies which facilitate the type of job creation we expect,” Granger was quoted as saying in a press release from the Ministry of the Presidency.
The release reported the President as stating that Government must provide a sound traditional education system, and place more emphasis on technical and vocational education. Measures will soon be introduced in the National Assembly to explain the Government’s youth policy of which education will be the centre piece.
The press statement further added that the President challenged educated young people to be creators of their own wealth by pursuing self-employment. He suggested the fields of Information technology and agro-processing where entrepreneurs can be innovative.
“I would discourage young people from seeking state employment because it is what one person once called employee poverty.
The salaries are low and the possibilities are limited but an educated person is more likely to be innovative so there are many fields educated people can go into…so young entrepreneurs who are innovative and who can access information technology and likely to move ahead and Government can become facilitators in these fields”, the President said.
The President also committed to providing support for the promotion and marketing of agricultural and value added products regionally through the newly appointed Foreign Service Officers.
“Much of our agricultural produce, fish, vegetables, fruits, preserves can be sold in the Eastern Caribbean and its Government’s job to open those doors to new marketing opportunities through CSME [CARICOM Single Market and Economy]. So we have a role to play in helping bona fide producers to get their products sold.
We need to develop not only the services but we also need to develop products. In saying that, there are many areas in which Guyana has an advantage over Caribbean countries in terms of value added products… Government must have a type of education policy, which allows young people to go into these new fields and that’s the way we can open doors to new markets,” he said.
The emphasis by the government on entrepreneurship to create jobs has led to criticisms that is veering away from its manifesto pledge towards job creation.
