Education Ministry launches 10-year TVET policy to improve training

The Education Ministry has launched a 10-year policy aimed at modernizing the teaching of vocational educational skills with the intention of better preparing the future workforce.
The Guyana National TVET Policy 2025-2035 was launched on Wednesday by the Ministry of Education. The policy meets the requirements of the CANTA Quality Assurance Framework, and enhances the mobility of TVET graduates in Guyana and beyond.

During the launch of the policy on Wednesday, Education Minister Priya Manickchand explained that it was developed as a result of Government’s effort to create a proper guideline for skills training. According to her, this guideline will be available to all educational systems responsible for training young people.
“We have a lot of education questions arising, and we found ourselves in Guyana without a guiding document to answer these questions; and while this is a 10-year policy, I expect that before it ends, due to the fact that everything is evolving, there will be a review of this, and there will be amendments; but this is our guiding policy for TVET in Guyana that guides the Ministry of Labour and Human Services. This is also going to be a guide for the University of Guyana (UG); it’s going to guide the Cyril Potter College of Education, and ultimately it’s going to guide anyone involved in training our young people,” she said.
Minister Manickchand added that this policy comes at a pivotal time, when Guyana is looking for an array of skilled workers to complete various skilled jobs.
“We know (that) right here in Guyana, in the ministries, we are searching for engineers with certain skillsets, and persons who have apprenticeship. But those skills are not here, so we can maintain schools in the way that we want to maintain them. The Government alone is searching high and low for skills that we cannot find. So much so that we may have to import skills before we go to those skills. This policy comes at a time when we are trying to build all of this together,” she explained.
Speaking on the way in which the BIT will capitalize on this opportunity, Richard Maughn, Chief Executive Officer, said, “This will speak to the vision of the Government and the vision of technical leaders, to make sure that we have individuals who are competent to add to our productivity in the world of work… As actors in the grand scheme of national development, we believe that the demand of the economy should determine what we do in technical training. We also believe that what is happening in our economy here must be considered.
“Therefore, we are committed to doing our part, so that this is not just a document, but something that we would use to effect quality change within our society when it comes to technical training,” he said.
The Government of Guyana recognizes that adequate education and skills can improve the employability of unemployed youths, the working population, the productivity of enterprises, and the inclusiveness of economic growth. This realization has led to increased interest by the Government and MoE in the formulation of this TVET policy to drive the change necessary to meet development challenges, particularly to create jobs for youths in the country.
On that note, Chief Education Officer (Technical) Dr. Ritesh Tularam relayed that there are five strategic priority objectives for the policy. Policy objective one is to ensure improvements in governance, coordination, and management of the TVET sector in Guyana. Policy two is to develop guidelines to establish and put in place governing boards for TVET institutions. The third policy is aimed at redefining the architecture of TVET funding in order to improve efficiency in TVET delivery. The fourth policy is geared towards establishing and putting into operation the proposed TVET levy in consultation with the private sector; and the fifth policy is to develop a TVET institution to solicit private funding.
According to the education officials, the overall goal of utilizing this policy is to bridge the skills gap across the country and create a workforce for the future.
One of the major weaknesses of the TVET system in Guyana has been the absence of a single coordinating agency to guide, direct and oversee TVET in the country. As a result, TVET delivery system is fragmented among several Government ministries and agencies, notably the Ministries of Education and Labour – each with different governance and management practices.
Guyana’s Parliament in 2004 passed two Acts to address two components in Article 46 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas; namely, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Act (Act No. 11 of 2004) and the National Accreditation Act (Act No. 12 of 2004).
Out of Act No. 11 of 2004, the Council for TVET (CTVET) formally became operational in April 2004. The CTVET was established to ensure the supply of adequate human capital to the Guyanese economy, and where possible, to the Caribbean region.