The Office of the First Lady, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Protection’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT), on Monday launched an Information Communication Technology (ICT) training programme at the Essequibo Technical Institute (ETI), Anna Regina in the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region (Region Two).
The Ministry of the Presidency said during the launch of the programme, the fourth for the year, Principal of the ETI Rawl Pearce offered two two-year scholarships in ICT to the Valedictorian and Best Graduating students of the BIT-ICT programme.
“We are going to offer scholarships for two years for the valedictorian and best graduating student. Let this be the drive to push you to do well in this programme,” he was quoted as saying in a ministry statement.
Pearce also urged the 30 participating youths to take full advantage of the opportunity afforded them to further their education, while reminding that ICT is becoming increasingly important and is used in almost every facet of life.
The programme is aimed at providing youths with skills in the areas of information technology, literacy and numeracy, entrepreneurship, sexual reproductive health, and Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Mohammed Shaeed, a representative of the BIT, encouraged the participants to complete the five-week programme as it provides a platform for elevation. “It is the mandate of BIT to offer a skill set to youths and vulnerable sections of the society so that they can be equipped with the requisite skills necessary to become more competitive… We are hoping at the end of this five-week programme, you can look at this programme as one that you can build on,” he said.
Additionally, Chairman of the ETI Dileep Singh said the ICT training programme being offered by the Office of the First Lady is timely as it targets vulnerable youth. “We have a beautiful country to develop and young people are the most important assets to that development that we [Guyana] have and we want to ensure that you are equipped for that task,” he added.
According to the ministry, upon the completion of the programme, participants will receive accredited certificates from the BIT.
