BIT, WUSU forge strategic partnership to support ENGAGE Youth initiative

A meeting was held Tuesday in the Ministry of Labour’s boardroom to discuss collaboration strategies for the five-year project ‘Empowering the Next Generation: Agency and Gender Equality (ENGAGE Youth)’ between the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) and the World University Service of Canada (WUSC).
The discussion centred on leveraging BIT’s technical and vocational training programmes to support the mission of WUSC ENGAGE Youth in empowering Indigenous and rural youth, particularly young women, in regions 1, 7, 8, and 9. The collaboration will increase access to vocational skills training, gender equality awareness, and financial support for youth-led enterprises.

In attendance were Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton; Board of Industrial Training (BIT) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Richard Maughn; Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Nateica Garraway; Assistant Secretary, Desmone Jackson; and Technical Officer for Region 4, Rohan Bishop.
Representing WUSC ENGAGE Youth were Project Director, Vanessa Thompson; Youth & Economic Opportunities Specialist, Setann Small; Grants Officer, Jennifer Persaud-Dipnaraine; and Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, Joel Sukra.

During the meeting, Minister Hamilton reaffirmed his c ommitment to supporting this initiative, with a memorandum of understanding set to be signed at a later date. This partnership seeks to create sustainable opportunities for young people, ensuring they gain the necessary training and support to thrive in the workforce.
<<<ENGAGE Youth initiative launch>>>
The transformative ENGAGE Youth initiative was launched last Tuesday at the Whirlwind Village, Sophia Exhibition Centre, Greater Georgetown, through a partnership between the Government of Guyana, the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and Global Affairs Canada.
The project will impact 6,484 individuals, including women and youth from communities in Regions One, Seven, Eight, and Nine.
With a budget of $1.3 billion, the initiative will be implemented over the next five years.
The ENGAGE youth project was designed to provide indigenous youth with essential skills and opportunities.
These include gender equality training, community awareness programmes, life skills and empowerment workshops, vocational skills training, networking and capacity strengthening for key stakeholders.
<<<About WUSC>>>
The World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a leading Canadian non-profit organization, specializing in international development and education. It focuses on improving education, economic, and empowerment opportunities for young people, particularly women and refugees, around the world.
WUSC is leading the implementation of the USD47 million Accelerating Change Through InnoVation in Agricultural TVET (ACTIVATE) program. This is in collaboration with two local sub-partners, Social Enterprise Ghana, and Cerath Development Organization, to improve the well-being and resilience of young women and men by strengthening an industry-led demand-driven Agriculture Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) system nationwide in Ghana.
Over five years, the program aims to tackle significant challenges in the agriculture and adjacent sectors, including improving the quality of ATVET instruction, curriculum, and infrastructure. It will address the misalignment of TVET policies and reforms across ministries, bridge the gap between ATVET institutions and industry to better understand workforce requirements, enhance business skills and entrepreneurship support for young agri-preneurs, and build the management capacity of ATVET providers, regulators, and support organizations.