41 apprentices to be technically trained by GuySuCo

The Guyana Sugar Corporation Incorporated (GuySuCo) has announced that 41 apprentices have been inducted to its Port Mourant Apprentice Training Centre in Region Six, where they will be technically trained and prepared to join the operating factories.

These apprentices were recruited recently after the successful completion of a series of assessments and interviews. During the preliminary stage of the recruitment process, 214 applications were received.
This year’s cohort of apprentices is sponsored by the four operating sugar estates. After the completion of their apprenticeship, it is expected that the individuals would be employed at their respective sponsor estate.
Of the recruits inducted, 11 of them, between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age, are from areas surrounding the Rose Hall Estate, where they were afforded the opportunity to prepare themselves for lucrative technical opportunities in the operation of the Rose Hall Estate Factory, which is expected to become operation in October 2022.
At the induction ceremony, manager of the centre, Jainarine Sookpaul, told recruits, “You are fortunate, as you are the chosen ones. This institution stands on the pillars of tradition, honour and discipline. Over the years, the Training Centre has earned a reputation of delivering individuals of high discipline.”
Acknowledging the fact that this batch of apprentices is commencing their training during the global COVID-19 pandemic, Sookpaul assured that all measures are taken to ensure the health and safety of each individual.
“We have been conducting face-to-face training since February 2021, and have not registered any COVID-19 positive case here at the Centre. We intend to continue to follow the established protocols, and all persons joining the Training Centre must be fully vaccinated. We will provide support to ensure all our apprentices and staff are fully vaccinated.”
Meanwhile, GuySuCo’s Compensation and Business Development Manager, Shurwyn Stewart, added, “We wish to thank the Government of Guyana for their investment in GuySuCo and GTC/PM, but the success of each recruit is a collective responsibility of everyone, inclusive of parents and, importantly, the recruits themselves, who must maintain a high level of discipline and commitment.”
In 1957, Bookers Sugar Estates established an Apprentice Training Facility, called the Port Mourant Apprentice Training Centre (PMTC). The facility was established to provide young Guyanese with greater opportunities to equip themselves with technical skills. Since 1957, the number attending training has grown steadily, and, to date, 3,399 young persons have been trained at PMTC.
GuySuCo’s Apprenticeship Scheme is recognised as the best in Guyana, with the majority of graduates progressing into skilled and supervisory positions in GuySuCo after a period of consolidation in their jobs on completion of their apprenticeship. Technical disciplines include: industrial electrical installation, engineering fitting & machining, factory process instrumentation, heavy and light automotive engineering, automotive electrical engineering, and factory process sugar boiling.
The GuySuCo Training Centre/Port Mourant (GTC/PM) provides an essential function, it supplies employees with core technical skills for the fields and factories. It said upgrade and future modernisation of the other factories would also require such competencies.