Members of the various youth groups across ‘A’ Division assembled on Saturday at the Police Sports Club Ground at Eve Leary, Georgetown for the third annual Divisional Career Fair, held this year under the theme “Transforming the Mind, Developing the Nation’s Youths through Education, Motivation and Self-development.”
Organisers and participants at the ‘A’ Division third annual Divisional Career Fair on Saturday at the Police Sports Club Ground at Eve Leary
It kicked off with welcoming remarks from Division Commander Clifton Hicken and Technical Advisor of the Education Ministry, Wazir Mohamed, who encouraged stakeholders to follow the path of the Division in providing a platform for youths to be holistically exposed to the development taking place in the country in all sectors of the economy.
The opening ceremony also featured performances by children from the various youth groups, including poem recital, song, and an entertaining display of martial arts.
Among the agencies participating in the Career Fair and engaging young persons were: the Joint Services, government ministries, commercial entities and non-government organisations.
Scores of children and teenagers attended the fair throughout the day, and interacted with the participants. Most of the younger ones were dressed as professionals, such as law enforcement officers, doctors and nurses, lawyers, pilots and teachers displaying their aspiring career paths. The students seemed enthused as they moved from one booth to another, exploring.
The Guyana Times managed to get the reaction of a few persons at the career fair. A young lad, relating that this was his second time at the career fair, noted that he was excited to return to see all the “cool” equipment on display by the Joint Services, although he was unsure whether he would be pursuing a career in the security sector.
Another student told this newspaper her interest was captured by the various career paths available with the various disciplined forces. “I didn’t know they had so much opportunity, to be honest. A lot of people think that police and army is just that, but they offer much more. It’s very interesting,” she said.
This is the type of message the organisers and participants of the fair wanted to get out to the youths. In fact, Captain Oral Thom of the Guyana Defence Force pointed out the different units of the army that were on display.
“The GDF is a place where we have many different career opportunities, not just soldiers with boots and guns in hand. We have lawyers, doctors, nurses, pilots and even teachers. So I urge the youths: if you are deciding on a career path to take, come to the GDF and we will accept you,” the captain stated.
Section Leader of the Guyana Fire Service, Nigel Gravesande, is also encouraging youths to take advantage of career opportunities available in the Joint Services.
Speaking with reporters during the fair, Divisional Commander Clifton Hicken noted that the fair is a calendar event which seeks to guide and mould youths to become leaders of the future.
“The main idea of the youths dressing along a specific career path shows that they understand clearly what they want to be in the future, and it is for us now to nurture them through mentorship and ensure that they achieve these objectives, and that is what we are trying to do… We need to work towards one objective, and that is to mould the youths so we can have the right leaders of tomorrow,” the Commander outlined.
