The Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, has opened registration for the 2023 batch of Women’s Investment and Innovation Network (WIIN) training, according to release yesterday from the ministry.
This year, training will be offered in new courses such as food tourism, social media marketing, design, décor and events management, entrepreneurship, project management, and leadership-advocacy. There will also be recurring courses such as child care, care for the elderly, graphics design, home management, television and video production, and garment construction.
Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud highlighted the benefits of the programme and its impact on women across Guyana.
“WIIN continues to transform the lives of thousands of women across all the regions of Guyana through its flexible, inclusive and impactful hybrid training format. This free training initiative continues to yield entrepreneurs, and women-owned businesses and empowered women who are knowledgeable in various technical vocational areas. This is a dynamic programme that adapts to fit our country’s needs and is continually reviewed to ensure that there is a high probability for employment”, the minister said.
She added: “The WIIN training programme is one component of a holistic vision that seeks to equip women with all the tools and knowledge to become financially independent and confident to seek opportunities for self-development and upward mobility. The intention is to encourage more women to enter the labour market and to reduce the existent gender divide further. Guyana has made significant strides and programmes in this regard and WIIN is a tangible investment in this regard. I encourage women to sign on this year and commit to finishing their chosen area and to utilize the complementary programmes; WIIN in Business Clinics, the WIIN App, the WIIN business incubator and funding opportunities when they arise. These are also free and open to all. We are here to serve and I wish all the new applicants every success as we introduce new courses now and all year round and widen the scope of opportunities. We are looking forward to doubling the number of women trained and supported this year.”
Meanwhile, coordinator of the programme, Sanjay Pooran has this to say, “The WIIN programme has been nothing short of a phenomenal success. It has improved the lives of 6,000 women in all 10 Regions of Guyana in just two years. WIIN provides a combination of technical and vocational training, opportunities for entrepreneurial development, and access to financing opportunities. This programme emanates from a sincere desire on the part of the Honorable Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud and the Government of Guyana’s vision to see women empowered and excelling in all facets of national life.”
Persons desirous of signing up for one of the listed courses can do so by filling a digital application using the link http://www.facebook.com/humanservicesgy.
Registration closes on February 28, 2023. For more information, persons can call 229-2751 or 229-2842.
According to the release, no past academic qualifications are needed but applicants must provide a valid telephone number, and a form of identification (passport or identification card). For those doing classes online, a computer with a camera and stable internet connection is required.
The release noted that since the programme began in 2021, the number of courses offered has increased every year. In the initial year, 2,170 persons were trained with regions Four (588), Two (409), Five (345), Three (320) and Six (307) seeing the highest turnouts.
In 2022, the programme saw a 62% increase in participants with over 10,000 persons applying. Region Four had the highest number of persons trained at 937 while regions Three and Five each had over 500 persons trained. In the hinterland, over 350 persons were trained. Region Nine saw an increase of 532% while Region Seven (396%) and Region Ten (335%) also had hefty increases with regard to persons trained from 2021 and 2022.
Last year, 758 persons were trained in child care while 563 persons were trained in graphic design, and 523 in care for the elderly, the release added.
