A group of police ranks along with members of the public graduated on Monday afternoon from several training programmes which were sponsored by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force.
Commander of B Division, Ian Amsterdam, speaking at the graduation ceremony held at the New Amsterdam Prison Sports Club said that he feels joy to know that while the initiative began on “shaky grounds,” it has ended in success, since this was the first programme of its kind for B Division. He thanked the BIT for their support and stressed that he wishes to see many more of such programmes in the future.
The Commander told the graduating ranks that while they are attached to the Guyana Police Force, this was an opportunity they should be forever grateful for, since it will benefit them in the future.
“You are now embarking on a new area, where you were trained in various skills area for life,” he observed.
The courses offered included Heavy Duty Repairs, Motor Vehicles Auto Repairs, Cake Decoration and Catering, Garment Construction, and Radio and Electronic.
According to Amsterdam, the Heavy Duty and Motor Vehicles Repairs programmes were offered exclusively to the ranks.
This, he said, was not only beneficial to the ranks themselves, but to the force in general. Amsterdam pointed out, that whenever the need arises to operate heavy duty machinery in the line of the duty, these ranks can now do so. He also noted that these two programmes will now enable the ranks to maintain and repair the force’s vehicles, instead of the force having to take them regularly to private mechanics.
He urged the ranks to always put their best foot forward and to always work on further educating and developing themselves.
A total of thirty-one persons graduated on Monday.
Claurence Sheiko, Coordinator of the Board of Industrial Training gave the project report at the graduation ceremony, noting that the participants encountered few challenges throughout the programme. However, they were able to overcome them and worked towards success.
The programme which was partly initiated by the Division Commander, commenced in August, 2016.
The cost of the programme was funded by the Board of Industrial Training, and ranks who had to travel an extended distance to attend the classes were given a stipend.
