Sophia residents encouraged to capitalise on Village Day and Job Fair

Youth and job seekers in Sophia are being encouraged to come out to the second day of the Sophia Village Day and Job Fair.

Day one of the event got underway at the ‘C’ Field Sophia Playground and was hosted by local artiste and public figure, Kwasi Edmonson, popularly known as ‘Kwasi Ace’.

Edmondson said the job fair aspect was integrated into the village day because he wanted to shift the perception of the community.

“We have so many youths nowadays complaining about not being employed… but there are jobs available. But perhaps they are not looking in the right places, so we decided to invite some companies and let them come on board, and bring the jobs to the community,” he explained.

He noted that while the inclement weather put a damper on Saturday’s activities, however he anticipates a greater turn out on Sunday.

“So, it’s a two-day event that’s going to be annual, and we have so many stakeholders… we have the Guyana Defence Force, GTT came on board, we have MatPal, security companies, and the Board of Industrial Training. They are participating, and tomorrow again, the event will be starting at 11:00 am.

“This is a family-oriented event, and we have a whole lot of entertainment. We have a section of the venue set up for kids, so you can bring your kids for the trampolines, the bouncy castles, and there’s so much happening at this venue right now. Later on, we will be having entertainment by various artistes, various DJs… and like I said, this is big, and we want to keep it big, forging unity and bringing the community together, and the country as a whole,” he expressed.

Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with Responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy was present, and lauded the job fair aspect in particular, labelling the initiative as an important one which seeks to provide employment.

“The intention of the organisers is to ensure that they can target youngsters, people from the community that are without jobs, to bring several companies here with their booths to recruit people and to share with them information on offerings that they have in the field of jobs. And so, it is a good initiative, and I believe that it should be supported,” he said.

The minister noted that government is always willing to support initiatives that seek to get youngsters into the workforce, as well as provide opportunities for educational growth and technical upskilling.

Already, thousands have benefitted through the Ministry of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT) vocational programmes, the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarships which see persons attending university online, and the Get Ready for Opportunities to Work (GROW) programme, which sees persons attaining university entry qualifications.

“So, it’s not only about providing jobs, but it’s also about making people upgrade their skills and take up the opportunity of improving their qualifications, etc,” Minister McCoy said.

Product Marketing Manager of Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT), Kester Abrams, said that GTT is excited to partner with the organisers of the event, noting that participating in the job fair is part of GTT’s celebration activities, giving back to the community of Sophia after the recent fibre launch.

“We’re showing support for the events in the community, and making sure the community understands that while we are offering services in the area, that we are also here to support them as they celebrate their events,” he expressed.

GTT is also offering jobs and internship opportunities, with on-the-spot interviews being conducted at the fair.

The second day of the Sophia Village Day and Job Fair will be held on Sunday, July 30, from 11 am to 6:30 pm. Interested persons can attend at the ‘C’ Field Playground and learn of career opportunities, as well as training programmes they may be interested in.