31 GuySuCo apprentices graduate with call to build Guyana’s future

Thirty-one persons on Wednesday graduated after successfully completing a four-year course at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Port Mourant Training Centre (GPMTC).
It was the school’s 62nd apprentice graduation exercise since opening its doors in 1957.
Corporate Manager of GuySuCo, Hutton Griffith, said it was a proud moment for the 31; it should not be the end of their learning.
“I assure you, this is just the beginning. Technical knowledge alone is not enough. What will set you apart will be your attitude, your work ethic, your mindset, and the character that you display. Your skills and experience, humility, strong interpersonal relations, and a constant desire to learn are what will take you very, very far. Do not be afraid to set yourselves high goals,” the corporate manager said while noting that the government of Guyana is offering free education from nursery to university.
“Even more of you graduates could take up a gold scholarship, the Guyana Online Academy of Learning. You can continue to improve yourselves with what is available. Dream and dream big, and while you chase those dreams, I invite you to consider building those dreams right here with the Guyana Sugar Corporation with all of us.”
Meanwhile, Region Six Chairman David Armogan, who is also head of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), was also admonishing the grandaunts not to give up learning, saying that there are numerous opportunities for them.
“Guyana today is classified as the fastest-growing economy in the world. Therefore, you, the young people, will have to ensure that you can play your part in the future development of our country.”
Armogan said that daily, new investors are coming into Guyana.
“…if at any point in time after you have completed your journeyman course and you decide that you want to work elsewhere, there are so many opportunities that will be available in our country for you to work. Today, in Berbice in particular, so many things are developing…”
He made mention of two new hospitals currently being built in Region Six, saying that tradesmen and women will be needed for the construction.
“When that is opened as well, you will need tradesmen to go and work there. So, in all the industries, even in agriculture, we are expanding agriculture in a big way in this region because we will once again have to become the food basket of the Caribbean, and so there will be many opportunities for you to work, not only in GuySuCo but also elsewhere in the region in agriculture and other industries that are developing at a fast pace.”
Armogan, however, pointed out that GuySuCo is on the rise again. As such, those who have qualified themselves through the technical and vocational training programme in electrical installation, fitting and machining, welding and fabrication, motor vehicle servicing and repairs, and refrigeration have a role to play to ensure the progress of GuySuCo, which Armogan said is very important.
In the first two years of the course, students go through an apprenticeship, and during the latter two years, they get hands-on experience on one of GuySuCo’s sugar estates.
Advisor to the Agriculture Minister, Dr Richard Blair, and focusing on what has been happening in the sugar industry, pointed out that advances in agro-processing, precision farming, irrigation methods, renewable energy, and smart technology are now very much a part of how food is grown.
“It is no longer just about farming. It is technology, engineering, and innovation. In fact, this industry understands that very well. And that transformation is happening in a very profound fashion.
Thousands of hectares of land have been converted to facilitate mechanised harvesting.”
Dr Blair noted that at Albion and Rosehall, about 45 per cent of the land has been converted to facilitate mechanised harvesting. This, he said, helps in efficiency and raising productivity.
“So, whether it is keeping sugar mills efficient, developing agro-processing plants, or helping us modernise farm equipment, your skills are part of the bigger picture. You are not just part of GuySuCo; you are part of Guyana’s future,” he told the graduates.