Govt committed to continue creating opportunities for every Guyanese – Dr Singh

Some 613 people from Regions Three and Four graduated from the Board of Industrial Training’s Skills Training Programme at the National Cultural Centre on Tuesday, with Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh encouraging them to reflect on available opportunities and position themselves to benefit from them.

Dr. Singh told the graduands that they have been equipped with the skills and certification that the country’s economy is hungry for.

“As you graduate today, jobs are being created more rapidly than we can even fill them. You are a self-selected group of people; you recognize opportunity when you see it, and your government is providing this training for you so that you can take advantage of those opportunities. You persevered and completed your training programmes, but the journey does not end here because the truth is it is really the beginning; you are now embarking on the world of work, and those who thrive and prosper are those who put in the effort, have the energy to go the extra mile, and who demonstrate a commitment to excellence,” he stated.

He added, ” Each and every one of you has the capacity not only to survive but to succeed and prosper, and I want to urge you to take advantage of the opportunities in the Guyana of today.”

Moreover, the minister pointed out that the manpower programmes under the Labour Ministry have been expanded because ‘President Ali recognizes, as he did in this period, that our country will face the most dramatic and structural shifts in our labour market ; that the function of manpower planning would require dedicated effort because we have now a Guyana where more jobs are being created than at any other time in our country’s history, and new types of jobs and new types of skills, many of them for the very first time.’

He further highlighted that this is what is happening in an economy that has been growing at an average rate of more than 36 percent per annum over the last five years, and in an economy where the non-oil productive sector has been growing at an average of 11 percent per annum.

“The result of that is that under President Ali’s visionary leadership, in his first term of office alone, 104,000 new jobs were created. By the end of President Ali’s first term, as a result of those jobs being created, more than 104,000 persons were working than at the start of his last term in office,” Dr. Singh emphasised.

“Real economic growth translates itself into real opportunities for the Guyanese people because President Ali’s vision and our government’s vision under President Ali’s leadership is a Guyana where every single Guyanese person of working age is able and equipped to get a good quality job . That involves ensuring economic growth, job creation, and critical skills training and human capital development to fill those jobs, hence manpower planning and the phenomenal job that is being done by the Ministry of Labour and the Board of Industrial Training.”

Also delivering remarks to graduands at the graduation ceremony was Labour Minister Keoma Griffith, who, in addition to congratulating the 613 graduands, also presented honorary awards for their years of service at BIT to former Ministers of Labour Joseph Hamilton, Dr. Nanda Gopaul, and current Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir, who served the institution from 2020 -2025, 2011-2015, and 2001-2011, respectively.

David Armogan, who served as Chairman of BIT from 2020-2025, and current Chairperson Kathy Smith, the first woman to serve as Chairperson commencing in 2025, were also awarded.
Smith, in her address to graduands, explained that Guyana’s labour force needs them all and encouraged them to strive for success as she recalled once working with BIT before establishing her own business and being in the position she is today.

Smith is the first female President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) as well as Chairwoman of BIT.

The 613 persons who graduated yesterday from various areas in Regions Three and Four are now equipped with skills in the areas of heavy-duty equipment operation, electrical installation, welding and fabrication, commercial food preparation, information technology, plumbing, and garment construction.

The Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning’s BIT programme continues to train more Guyanese across the country, with 6,593 persons from Regions Three and Four having completed and graduated from their respective programmes between 2020-2025.