“You are the future of the economy” – Exxon’s Routledge to TVET learners

Seeking to make various Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) projects long term, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton on Friday shared that several of these would be redeveloped and revolutionised.
Stating that the Government is committed to ensuring youths who have the technical aptitude are provided with the same level of counsel and facilities provided to academic learners, Hamilton expressed that this commitment was one that echoed the sentiments of the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI) Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) programme. This, he said, was conceptualised to develop the local workforce and build human capacity through the enhancement of education to promote sustainable economic diversification in Guyana.
Raising awareness of the underlined growth which he sees, he stated that the GGI’s celebration ceremony of the TVET programme at the Centre was a project with a great purpose.
“The long-term project must be to revolutionise education and learning in this country; we must ensure that the children who have the aptitudes to be technical are given the same counsel and guidance and facilities at an early age,” the Minister underscored.
Meanwhile, ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge, who was at the GGI’s celebration ceremony, said the investment in these training programmes was about raising the standard of employment; therefore, raising the standard of prosperity while having a sustainable and competitive economy.
Many youths were present at GGI’s celebration ceremony, which was hosted at the Leonora Technical and Vocational Training Centre on Friday
“Oil and gas resources we all know are finite and the more important resources of the country are its people and you are the future generation. You are the future of the economy and of society and by investing in you, we are investing in the future of the country. Programmes like these are critical ,because technology helps drive competitiveness and it is all forms of technology,” he shared.
Referencing Hamilton’s views, Routledge disclosed that last year, Exxon invested in a workforce study that covers a five-year window from 2023 to 2028 focusing on five sectors of the economy – oil and gas, construction, transportation, agriculture and health care. The forecasts reveal the need for an additional 50,000 persons in the workforce in these areas.
Similarly, Deputy Chief Education Officer, Dr Ritesh Tularama, who was representing the Education Minister, said the programme aligned with the Ministry’s strategic vision of educational empowerment made possible through collaboration.
“The Ministry of Education, in its strategic vision, carefully articulates that vision that every single child that exits the secondary school, by extension post-secondary institution, must do so with a skills certificate and here, we are realising that vision.” he stated.