Guyanese urged to diversify skills to bridge labour gap

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh has urged Guyanese to diversify their range of skills to fill labour gaps and acquire knowledge to better equip them for various fields.

Minister Singh made the call on Friday during the multi-stakeholder forum on Guyana’s labour needs, hosted by the Diaspora Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal.

During his presentation, Dr Singh noted that far too often, people are unwilling to practice occupational mobility due to cultural expectations and unfamiliarity with different environments.

Instead, it becomes the norm for people to take traditional jobs that do not necessarily meet their financial requirements.

“Any rational person must constantly be considering what are the alternatives before them, and how can they adapt and adjust to best take advantage of the opportunity or reskill even where that is needed, to best position themselves to take advantage of the opportunities that lie before them,” he said.

The minister noted that Guyanese need to break the mould of rigidity in employment and normalise branching into new sectors and areas.

“We need to encourage people to be… more occupationally mobile. More occupationally flexible. Be willing to change course, be willing to acquire new skills, and go where the jobs are,” the minister expressed.

Meanwhile, the multi-stakeholder forum saw discussions to assess the sectors across Guyana that need skilled labour and determine the manpower required to fill the gaps in the short, medium, and long term.