Guyana’s human capital its greatest resource – ExxonMobil Country Manager

…cites importance of growing local content capacity

Exxon Country Manager
Alastair Routledge

Guyana was on Saturday reminded that its greatest resource is its human capital, by Country Manager of ExxonMobil, Alastair Routledge.
Routledge was at the time giving the keynote address virtually at the University of Guyana’s 54th convocation ceremony. He reminded the graduates that their country needs them and that notwithstanding Guyana’s abundant resources, they remain the most valuable.
“A sustainable transformation here will require investment and the oil and gas industry is already helping to deliver funds to the Natural Resource Fund. Projects identified in the budgets reflect that and will continue to grow. More importantly, Guyana will need talented people to implement these projects and make this transformation happen,” Routledge told the graduating batch.
“Your country needs you. You are the most valuable resource in the country. Sustainable transformation also means making steady progress in growing local capacity in a wider range of sectors. The oil and gas sector is capital, not labour intensive. And oil is finite,” Routledge explained.

University of Guyana

According to Routledge, he has been impressed by the way his staff and the University have weathered the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that it is usually young people, just out of the university, who drive the most changes. And the country manager noted that his company will continue to do what it can to grow Guyana’s human capital and local capacity.
“Every day, I see evidence that Guyana is already transforming. And University of Guyana graduates are playing a key role. In our company, we have UG grads in key positions, in socio-economic department, communications, IT, construction and accounting,” he said.
“Our long-term support for the University through the ExxonMobil Foundation and the greater Guyana initiative is meant to help the University play its greater role in growing human capital and local capacity. It will take talented people and hard work to implement the University’s vision.”
The annual graduation exercise is a highlight on UG’s calendar of institutional events since it provides not only an opportunity for celebrating the efforts of students, lecturers, families, and supporters but for stirring graduation speeches from valedictorians and high-profile keynote speakers.
For this year, the University had previously announced that a total of 2500 graduands from 50 different disciplines would graduate in a series of online graduation events at the end of March 2021. The University marked a number of historic events, including the first UG-trained PhD graduands from the Doctorate in Biodiversity programme.
UG had also said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of prospective graduands this year is set to break last year’s graduation record of 2133 by 367 or 17 per cent. Owing to the need to conduct business in safe mode in prevailing COVID-19 conditions, graduands participated in a virtual march with their graduate portraits taken in advance as well as through a live online interface.
The University of Guyana has graduated upwards of 50,000 graduates in its 58-year existence. Many of these graduates have gone on to serve at the highest levels nationally and internationally. (G3)