Applicants seeking office jobs, but construction industry has numerous vacancies — Finance Minister

Many job seekers are seeking office employment while numerous jobs are available in the construction industry which, according to Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, are better paying.

Dr Singh was speaking last Saturday at the Tain University Campus job fair, which specifically targeted the individuals who were graduating that day, after successfully completing courses in welding and fabrication, refrigeration and air conditioning, electrical installation, and motor vehicle servicing and repairs.
The job fair was also open to the public.

The Finance Minister warned that some employers might not just want a certificate but some work experience.
“Don’t wait necessarily for the perfect job; that it is going to come, and don’t believe that because you are waving the certificate you are guaranteed a job at your perfect employer. Your perfect employer may very well prefer for you to have the certificate plus a few years of experience,” Minister Singh told the potential job seekers during the graduation exercise.
The job fair showcased a wide range of fabrication companies and construction companies, including those that specialise in large-scale building construction, and are constantly looking for individuals with electrical installation skills.
The job fair also saw companies that carry out refrigeration and air-conditioning work. Some of the companies were seeking to recruit persons with mechanical skills and skills for motor vehicle servicing and repairs.
“You have the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force, who are also looking for people with technical skills, because they recruit people with a wide range of skills. The Ministry of Health is there. The Ministry of Education is there, they are also looking to recruit people with a particular set of skills,” the Finance Minister added.
Among the companies seeking to recruit a range of skills was Brass Aluminium and Cast Iron Foundry Ltd (BACIF) of West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
Commercial and Design Superintendent Yolanda Geddes-Kendell says they are currently looking for welders, and other workers.
“We manufacture and fabricate various items – from fire hydrants, manhole covers and frames, and lots more that we do for both local and regional industries. We are currently hoping to have some more employees come in, more so in the field of welding, fitter machinists, and also we would like to have some general foundry department assistants.”
She said currently there were about 20 vacancies at BACIF.
Rafeek and Sons Construction Operations Manager Kevin Sukhu also spoke of available jobs within that firm.
“There are a lot of vacancies in construction in particular, because it is just a lot of buildings going up; a lot of things happening and there are just not enough workers. Right now, our company has enough work to support tradesmen, whether it be masons, carpenters, welders, drivers or heavy-duty machinery operators. We are even looking for a few white-collar positions, administrative and engineering,” he said.
Quality Deliver is a construction company located in New Amsterdam but does work across the country, from building construction to road building and document processing.
Company Office Manager Shamira Ramsuchit-David explained that their aim was not to hire persons but rather to see what jobs people were seeking, while noting that the firm did have vacancies for persons seeking employment in the construction industry.
“To understand the needs of people, basically. A lot of persons are here looking for jobs in the office – at least that is the feedback I got – which means that for me, for this fair, I think maybe the organisers can seek to expand, in terms of the people that they are targeting as exhibitors,” Ramsuchit-David suggested.