National Industrial Policy to be formulated – Granger

…aims to complement efforts to build a skilled workforce

A National Industrial Policy (NIP) will be formulated to support existing industries, modernise the industrial sector, establish low-carbon industries, provide training in industrial skills and generate employment as the Government continues to take steps to ensure that Guyana has a skilled workforce that will lead its economic transformation.

This is according to President David Granger, who is quoted by the Public Information and Press Services Unit of the Ministry of the Presidency at the Board of Industrial Training’s (BIT) graduation ceremony, which was hosted at the National Cultural Centre. Granger, who was accompanied by First Lady Sandra Granger said in light of Guyana’s impending revenues from the petroleum sector, the policy will rest on four main pillars: infrastructure, investment, innovation and integration.
“Infrastructure, the first pillar, is essential to promoting industrialisation. Transport infrastructure – aerodromes, bridges and roads – are necessary to reduce investment and production costs and facilitate easy access of goods and services to markets,” Granger is quoted as saying,
He noted that investment, the second pillar, is essential to industrialisation, while noting that the most important investment is the investment in human capital. Innovation, he said, the third pillar of the NIP, is aimed at being a driver of growth and information and communication technology is boosting innovation. The Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) envisages the development of a “modern knowledge economy where ICT systems are the backbone of efficient public service delivery, support a more informed and active citizenry, and drive innovations in the business and creative sectors”.
He posited that the digital state, by applying ICT to add value to production and service sectors, will trigger economic transformation, adding that the digital state will also revolutionise the delivery of education, including distance education.
Integration, the fourth pillar, he added, aims at integrating the various parts of the economies of the regions. “Regionalisation will allow national development to take place horizontally, across all of our regions. It will stimulate the demand for more skilled persons,” the Head of State said.
The policy, he said, will promote industrialisation, diversify the economy, stimulate employment, harness people’s potential and promote skills training for national development.
He commended the BIT for the work it has been doing in equipping our people, and particularly young people, with employable skills. He said the commencement of petroleum production or “first oil” will result in an increase in economic growth and in public revenues.
Oil revenues, he said, are not ends in themselves but are a means to realise objectives such as better education, improved communications, decent and affordable housing, healthier population, safer communities, higher wages and increased employment.
The President said oil represents an opportunity, for the country’s 50th Republic Anniversary, to lay the foundation for a safe, secure and sustainable future for present and future generations.
“Guyana must never be poor again,” the President told the 260 graduates.
“The oil is not a bonanza which we must waste. It is an opportunity for the nation to build a stronger, to build a resilient economy. Your Government is committed to manage oil revenues for the benefit of present and future generations prudently. The Government intends to use oil revenues to expand and to diversify the economy, strengthen the non-oil sectors, build human capacity and generate employment,” the Head of State said.
The National Training Project for Youth Empowerment (NTYE) was launched in 2006 and its programmes are being delivered across Guyana. These programmes are designed to target vulnerable groups such as the school dropouts and youths from depressed and/or hinterland communities. Chairman of BIT, Clinton Williams said the programme started with 600 graduates in 2005 and has since expanded and has seen some 24,000 persons being trained in ICT, forestry, home economics, health services among other skills.