Dear Editor,
The rapid development in all sectors of Guyana’s economy is being impeded by an acute shortage of labour, especially skilled labour.
One big construction company says that it has vacancies for over 100 jobs, including unskilled, and is finding it hard to fill these slots.
Another company say it cannot get even unskilled labour to work on a regular basis, and that it might have to seek approval from Government to import labour from overseas. The estimate of labour shortage for the next 5 years ranges from 50,000 to 100,000. The latter figure was cited by Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud (Guyana Daily Business: 14/8/24).
The Ministry of Labour, recognizing this massive labour shortage, has sharpened focus on technical training at its Board of Industrial Training (BIT) unit to help close the skilled labour shortage gap. Simultaneously, a crucial responsibility of the Labour Ministry is to strive to support a healthy industrial relations climate to facilitate the country’s social and economic transformation (SET). Towards this goal, the Ministry vetted and countersigned 102 Collective Labour Agreements (CLAs) between employers and employees from 2020 to 2024.
Building upon a stable industrial relations climate, the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) has conducted 653 courses from 2020-2024. These are critical for the country’s SET, and Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton has expounded on the need for the University of Guyana (UG), for example, to reconfigure its curriculum to embrace the skills set needed by SET. He says UG should produce graduates with qualifications compatible with the country’s development thrust, and which are marketable. If graduates’ qualifications are not marketable, they would become frustrated, even demoralised, and inclined to emigrate.
The courses for each of the 10 regions may vary according to the needs of the regions. So far (2020-2024) 12,765 (M: 5077; F: 7688) Guyanese have been trained. Females comprise 60% of graduates, compared with 40% of males. This is the pattern nationwide as proportionately more females tend to graduate compared with males at (i) secondary schools, (ii) University of Guyana; and (iii) Teachers’ Training College (CPCE). At BIT, female graduates outnumber males in such areas as: photovoltaics installation, information technology, social work, occupational health and safety, shade house farming, garment construction, early childhood development, data operation, cosmetology, agro-processing, and commercial food preparation.
Skills training is also provided by other organizations, including the private sector. The US$13 million Oil and Gas Facility (Simulator) under the administration of the Guyana Technical Training College (GTTC) is a joint venture of the Guyana Government and ExxonMobil and partners. This facility is dedicated to training in: mechanical, instrumentation, electrical, and production. The US$7.2 million Hospitality and Tourism Training Institute (HTTI), funded by the Government and the Caribbean Development Bank, is under construction at Port Mourant, and would be administered by the GTTC. Government expects to create 50,000 jobs in this sector (2/17/24) in the next few years.
GuySuCo’s training school at Port Mourant would be upgraded. Also, the Ministry of Education administers the TVET (Technical and Vocational Education Training) programme that includes the Government Technical Institutes. TVET trains about 4,000 students per year in various skills. The Ministry of Agriculture has its own training programs run by the Guyana School of Agriculture and by NAREI (National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute). Other Government Ministries and agencies have their own technical training programs.
How do we get an insight into the impact of these programs? For the BIT training, the Ministry of Labour has employed tracer studies, which have shown that BIT students did not only enhance or acquire new skills, but also improved their employment prospects. Before BIT training, out of a sample of 226, 56% were gainfully employed, 13% were studying, and 31% were unemployed. After BIT training, 73% are employed, 8% continue studying, and 19% unemployed. In the public sector, 43% of BIT graduates are employed, while 26% work in the private sector. No response on employment status was received from 31% (70) of the graduates in the sample.
Technical and vocational education, including AI technology, are given high priority in the furtherance of the country’s socio-economic transformation.
Regards,
Dr Tara Singh
