In Response to the growing demand for skilled labour across various sectors, the Ministry of Labour’s Board of Industrial Training (BIT) plans to roll out additional training programmes this year to benefit approximately 4,000 Guyanese.
Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton made this announcement during the recent Budget in Focus programme.
Highlighting the need for targeted training amidst the rapid expansion of sectors such as construction, tourism, and hospitality, he said, “You have to train more [persons] because you are doing more. All the training… is relevant to the needs of the society. That is what we will continue to do.”
Over 12,700 individuals have been certified through BIT’s skill training programmes.
This year, the government has allocated $677.5 million to train an additional 2,397 individuals through BIT, with plans to expand training efforts to benefit 4,000 persons.
Minister Hamilton added that beyond BIT, ‘“we have other programmes that we are supervising and collaborating with [others] partners, internationally and locally.”
This year, the ministry will execute another programme funded by the World Bank, where 20 females will be trained – two from each region – at the higher level in solar photovoltaic.
When completed, these persons will be equipped with the requisite knowledge and skill set, enabling them to train interested persons from their communities.
Minister Hamilton disclosed that the ministry will be launching a programme very soon to train more persons from other regions in fibre optic, given the rapid expansion of the telecommunications sector.
Meanwhile, the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) department will continue to execute more training seminars for persons from the public and private sectors.
Focusing on this year’s fiscal plan, totalling over $1.83 billion, the minister highlighted that successive budgets build upon one another. This continuity is reflected in the programmes and policies designed to improve the standard of living for all citizens.
“Over the four years, we have been ensuring that those commitments come to fruition,” he stated.
The labour minister cited several tangible initiatives geared towards strengthening the country’s human resource capacity including the government’s free tertiary education initiative and the execution of training programmes.
Budget 2025 is themed, ‘A secure, prosperous and sustainable Guyana’.
More Stories
Guyana, DR ready to work together to market joint tourism product
All 17 NDCs in Reg. Four to benefit from equipment to maintain community drainage network – Min. Mustapha
Hess extends support for Guyana-Mount Sinai national healthcare initiative