REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT BHARRAT JAGDEO AT THE LAUNCHING OF THE NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR YOUTH EMPOWERMENT Banks DIH, Thirst Park - June 20, 2005

My government has consistently placed the empowerment and development of young people high on its policy agenda. I have always held the view that we must invest in our young people, and must be able to develop their potential and channel their youthful enthusiasm into productive ventures.

It is for this reason my government has placed emphasis on education.

Our education sector goal is a simple one: to eliminate illiteracy, improve the capacity of our people to live in harmony and succeed in a changing world.

The key elements of our strategy in pursuit of this goal are:

- to improve the quality of education at the primary level: In particular, we must ensure that basic functional literacy is acquired by the end of primary schooling. New methods to teach literacy and numeracy is being introduced into the school system. To facilitate this process, there is continues assessment throughout the life of child and new national assessment throughout school levels 2,4 and 6. Consequently, placement at secondary schools will no longer be based upon a single end-of-primary examination

- to ensure universal access to quality secondary education: In 1992 only about 35% of our students attended recognized secondary institutions. Today that number is about 75% and the government is committed to upgrading all our institutions to an acceptable secondary level. At this level, in 2004 we launched the BCCP which is intended to eventually provide all school-leavers with a national, regional and internationally recognized level one competency certificate at level 10 and 11. This will provide all our children the opportunity to find good employment or continue their education.

• to expand access to tertiary education: In addition to the University of Guyana and existing government technical institutes, we have increased access by establishing new technical institutions in Essequibo and Corriverton. We have plans to establish other appropriate institutions in region 5 and elsewhere.

To achieve these, we have increased the budgetary allocation for education from $1B in 1992 to $14 Billion this year. Importantly, we cannot ignore the fact that teachers’ salaries increased by over 600% during the past decade, and we will do all we can to further improve on this situation based essentially upon performance.

Also, the Government has awarded more than 1000 scholarships to qualified young people to study in various countries such as Cuba, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia, India, Mexico and at the University of the West Indies.  At present, more than 300 students are in Cuba pursuing studies in a variety of disciplines including Engineering, Medicine, Economics, Science, Technology and Language.

Local scholarships and training programmes have also been provided, particularly to hinterland communities. The Hinterland Scholarship Programme under the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs caters for 70 hinterland students annually. This year the programme has expanded by 25%. Many of these students now have access to prestigious educational institutions such as the President’s College and they are excelling.

When the PPP/Civic administration created a Ministry specifically for youth development, there were many objectives in mind, including greater social cohesion through the promotion of better understanding of each other through sports and other shared activities and the creation of programmes to better prepare our young people to address personal and societal challenges so as to lead more productive lives. Two programmes which deserve special mention are the President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (PYARG) – which brings together thousands of our young people of different races and religions - and the residential and non-residential skills training programme of the Youth Ministry. This skills training drive is being held at two centres: the technical – vocational skills training for youths at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre, Linden/Soesdyke Highway which trains about 150 young people annually and the Sophia Training Centre which equips another 120 young people annually with various skills. During the past five years about 1800 young Guyanese were equipped with relevant skills through these programmes.

Several years ago, I launched the President’s Youth Choice Initiative Programme as a measure to get our youths gainfully involved in activities that will contribute to their personal upliftment and also enable them to learn new skills.

Last year, the Technical/Vocational Education and Training Bill was also passed in parliament and the National Council for Technical and Vocational Education is being established.

In my travels across Guyana, I have interacted with many of ‘out-of-school’ young people.  Many wished to find a job or to continue studying, but they did not have the basic skills or qualification to realize their ambitions. I have heard of how they wish to live productive lives and have prosperous futures through honest and hard work.  I find this to be very heartening, considering that some of our vulnerable youths may get involved in negative activities.  

To help more of these young people realise their potential, I wish to announce the establishment of the NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR YOUTH EMPOWERMENT.

This is a three-year project, targeting 5250 early school-leavers and ‘out- of-school’ young people between the ages of 16 and 25 years. These are young people who are not equipped with the academic qualification to gain entry to the Technical Institutes or other post-secondary institutions and are likely to experience difficulties in obtaining gainful employment, so we are providing another avenue to make them productive citizens, who will contribute not only to their personal well-being, but also to their country.

Under this scheme, we will, each year, train some 1750 young persons in a wide range of skills, such as carpentry, welding, plumbing, surveying, refrigeration and air-conditioning, leather craft and clerical skills. Training will be conducted by the Board of Industrial Training and will be undertaken at various centres throughout Guyana. The training will be carried out in collaboration with and at both public and private sector agencies. The government will spend approximately $350M on this programme.

There are plans also for the Government Technical Institutes to absorb a number of these trainees to pursue special short-term training courses in addition to the in-plant training.

While undergoing training, the Government will provide each trainee with a stipend to assist with travelling expenses.  They would also be given the basic tools and safety wear as may be required for some of the vocations.

The programme will provide those youths with knowledge and skills that will enable them to gain employment to fill existing vacancies in industries and to access further technical training in a number of disciplines.

BUILDING TRADES :          

Motor mechanic, electrical installation, carpentry, joinery, plumbing, masonry, land surveyor and draughtsman

OTHER ENGINEERING TRADES:

Welding, motor mechanic, electrical installation, fitter machinist, refrigeration, air conditioning, motor mechanic, pattern making and   moulding

OTHER INDUSTRIAL CRAFT:

Garment manufacturing, Leather craft, Indigenous straw craft, Tie-dye, batik and embroidery and Food preparation

OTHER SKILLS:

Telephone operating, Personnel   Clerk, hair dressing, sewing, store clerk, catering, dietary assistant, clerical/office practice, bookkeeping, paddy grading, videography, library attendant, field audit clerk, postal clerk, laboratory technician, microscopy assistant, health care assistant and nurse Aide.

The first batch will commence training in September 2005. The selection exercise of the targeted individuals across the country will begin, shortly.

Importantly, Life Skills Education will also be emphasized under this National Skills Training for Youth Empowerment Project, which is designed to ensure that the trainees are competent in basic literacy and numeracy, as well as other social development skills.

This programme will be structured to ensure that at the conclusion, participants will acquire the entry level skills for employment in their respective occupational skills and will also be capable of gaining entry to the post-secondary institutions for further training and development, if they so desire.

The launching of the project at this site reflects our commitment to partner with various sectors to tackle the problems of our society and create a more prosperous country. I hope that as this initiative takes root and its benefits become more recognizable, that more and more private agencies will see the need to be part of the training of their young people. On this note, I wish to thank the private sector for its support for this and similar programmes.

The Board of Industrial Training is being restructured. There will be greater private sector participation in its activities to ensure effective delivery of this programme. In the long term, the capacity of similar existing schemes by the Government will be enlarged to ensure that this effort continues way beyond the initial three-year period.

We will work to ensure that everyone is fully prepared as we modernize this nation, which I announced on Independence Day to be the focus of the Government in this coming period. Our young people must be adequately geared to ensure that they tap all the opportunities presented through the positive changes in our country.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that this youth project will empower our young people, especially those who have limited options and opportunities, and help to bring them out of their difficult situations. It will give them another chance to gain a skill and become employable.

I am sure that at the end of their training, those young people will be able to appreciate their elevated status, experience feelings of pride and be proud and honourable citizens of this great country.

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