A US$100 million (or about GY$20.9 billion) National Skills Training Centre is being established in Port Mourant, Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne), and President Dr. Irfaan Ali says there will be free training for persons in numerous skill areas.
Dr. Ali spoke at a diaspora engagement event held in Queens, New York on Thursday evening. There, the President outlined his government’s vision for developing services, infrastructure and skills in Guyana so that the country is globally competitive by 2030.
And a crucial part of the development plan, the President said, is guaranteeing that enough people are trained and can provide their services to the growing sectors locally.
So over 20,000 scholarships have been distributed and the government is hoping to recruit and train more persons in the fields of construction, hospitality, healthcare and teaching.
Beyond that, the President said a new skills training centre is being established to provide free training to Guyanese.
“We’re spending more than US$100 million on creating a new state-of-the-art national skills training centre, not only for the oil and gas sector but for every single sector and every single skill required to take the country forward.
“And that training will be free of cost,” the Head of State told the sizable gathering of Guyanese living in New York.
Outside of training, the President told the gathering of his government’s plans to invest heavily in infrastructure. He spoke at length about the new hospitals being built and showed them a 10-minute video on many of the large road projects ongoing or forthcoming.
And Dr. Ali also noted that Guyana is making the digital shift with new systems and identification cards so that the country is not left behind in the ongoing global technological revolution.
The President has been in New York for this year’s United Nations General Assembly, UNGA 78. Throughout the week, he touted Guyana’s potential as a world leader in climate services, energy and food security.
