Fifty-eight young professionals on Monday graduated from the public service training institute – the Bertram Collins College and would be integrated into the Public Sector.
President David Granger joined by the 58 graduating professionals of the Bertram Collins College of Public Service
Proudly adorned in their signature purple and black uniforms, graduating professionals were presented with certificates, outlining their qualifications to officially serve the people of Guyana.
As a result of the 12 months of extensive training, 58 young professionals will now embark on careers within the Public Sector as they will soon be attached to Ministries and other public offices across the country.
The first six months of the initiative saw the 58 professionals being exposed to formal classroom sessions in areas such as housing, educating, law and order, public health and infrastructure.
The trainees also underwent one month of travelling studies which took the group to various locations across the country.
That having been completed, the 58 professionals will now take on four months of work attachment.
Presenting an overview of the work of the newly-conceptualised institute was the College’s Senior Executive Director, Lawrence Paul.
Paul told the gathering that the Guyana public service needed a fresh breath of energy that would be responsive to the needs of the public that must be innovative and prepared to take calculated risks to change the archaic systems that are counterproductive and wasting taxpayers’ money.
With that being said, Paul charged the graduates with stepping up to take on these responsibilities by saying, “You have been trained to assist in this development.”
Meanwhile, welcoming the first batch of graduates to the Public Sector was the Head of State, President David Granger.
In delivering the feature address at the graduation ceremony on Monday, Granger explained the concept was brought to life shortly after taking office in 2015.
In doing so, he dubbed the occasion a milestone achievement for both the graduating professionals and the country at large.
With that, he congratulated the graduating class of 58 and charged the young professionals to embody the College’s motto: “Integrity, Impartiality and Objectivity,” as they set off on this journey. In fact, the President added the word “Intelligence” to that list.
Emerging at the forefront of the first batch to graduate the Public Service College was Ato Vaughn, who was showered with prizes presented by the President.
Vaughn was joined by his runner-up, William Charles, and other outstanding performers such as Most Improved Student, Towana Madramootoo, who also walked away with special prizes.
Also present at the graduation ceremony were other Government officials, all of whom assisted with the distribution of certificates.
The Bertram Collins College of Public Service, currently housed at GuySuCo’s former location in Ogle, was commissioned in 2016. The training institute is soon expected to expand with the use of a US$10 million grant by the Chinese Government.
