Guyana yesterday launched a scheme with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Guyanese youths to be trained as computer programmers, software developers and related skills.
The 150k Guyana Coders Initiative launched at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre will prepare and equip Guyanese youth with the skillsets they need to be globally competitive from 2030 and beyond, a release from the Office of the President said.
The project will also be available to young people in the Caribbean as President Irfaan Ali said that the Government here also wants them to benefit.
“This coding project must be one that is available to all our brothers and sisters in the CARICOM region, and Guyana is ready and willing to be that hub….I want our children in CARICOM to know because they are your brothers and sisters in CARICOM. They are our extended immediate family, the children of CARICOM. I want them to know that Guyana is battling for them today”, he told the gathering.
He told stakeholders and students at the inauguration of the project that Guyana’s Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, will lead the regional charge.
“…I’ll ask the Minister of Education to ensure that she reaches out to all our colleagues in the region to bring them on board with this programme.”
The Head of State also noted that the programme will not only be available to public school students but also those from private institutions.
He also called on the business community to aid in the blooming of the initiative.
“We are opening this up to the private sector. We want corporate Guyana to open your offices after work and welcome children from the community to be part of this programme, utilising your facilities. You have this responsibility to share with our society”, Ali said.
The release said that the 150k Guyana Coders Initiative is geared at inculcating in Guyanese and Caribbean youth, skills such as animation, website development, software engineering and to take up posts such as IT technicians, systems administrators, and cyber security analysts, among others.
During the programme launch, the www.guyanacoders.gov.gy website was also launched.
The President noted that in 2021, approximately 26.9m persons across the globe were software developers and that this number is expected to rise to 45m by 2030.
Guyana and the Caribbean, he said, must also be a part of this needed development.
“The world as we know it today will be completely different in 2030 and beyond. Your own future, the roles you will play, the job types, the knowledge set, the competency level will become completely different from what it is today, and we have a duty and responsibility to position you, to get you ready for that world 2030 and beyond and we have to do it now”, he told the event.
The President also noted that the development of data banking and data centres are key service-oriented business opportunities that Guyana will pursue. He said that he has already tasked Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC, to work closely with the UAE to understand “how the business works”.
“We want to, before the end of this year, lay in the National Assembly legislation to support data banks and data centres in Guyana. So that is something that we are targeting because we see this not only as an important step in the future, but we see this as an important business and economic opportunity”, the President added.
He lauded relations between Guyana and the UAE.
“I want to say that the UAE as a partner has been nothing but outstanding. The relationship that we share is one that is admirable…The level of commitment backed by action from the UAE is something all of us must applaud, and I want us to applaud the Government and people of the UAE”, Ali said.
He noted that in March of this year, a MoU was signed between the two countries that focuses on cooperation in the field of government development and modernisation.
The UAE Director General of the Office of the Prime Minister, Abdulla Lootah was also at the event.
