Front row are, from L to R are, Region Two, Technical Officer, Mr. Lokenauth Rooplall, CEO of BIT, Mr. Richard Maughn and Region Two Technical Officer, Mr. Mohammend Shaheed among graduates at Lake Mainstay.
SKILLFULLY TRAINED TO BE PRODUCTIVE –
As part of a two-day Government Outreach to Pomeroon Supenaam (Region Two), the residents of the ‘Cinderella County” were engaged by His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and his Cabinet.
Several activities were carried out on Friday, September 10, 2021, as part of taking service to the people of the region. One of these activities, saw ninety-one (91) beneficiaries graduating from the Ministry of Labour, Board of Industrial Training programme, held at Lake Mainstay.
Certificates were distributed to the graduates by Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), Mr. Richard Maughn and Region Two, Technical Officers, Mr. Mohammed Shaheed and Mr. Lokenauth Rooplall in areas, such as; Refrigeration and A/C repairs, Welding and Fabrication, Electrical Installation, Heavy- Duty Equipment Operation, Shade House, Cosmetology, Information Technology, Catering and Cake Decoration, Solar Installation and Agro Processing.
Speaking to the graduates at the ceremony, Mr. Maughn reminded the gathering that the programme offered by BIT is a testimony to the government’s commitment to invest in the development of the people of Guyana.
“Having completed the training, it was the intention of the training programme to make you a productive citizen of Guyana. Whether, you would have done Cosmetology, Welding, Heavy-Duty Equipment Operation, Solar Installation, it must be noted that the intention, is to make you a productive citizen, every one of you, need to start thinking as an individual, what you would produce, whether you want to work with somebody or yourselves, it must be realized that productivity is very important,” the CEO stated.
He further mentioned, that through the programme some of the graduates were exposed to micro-enterprise or small business management programme online, through the BIT and College of Excellence, Management and Business (C.E.M.B) respectively; accordingly, Maughn encouraged them to use what they were taught as a tool to build them to positively give back to society.
Speaking to BIT in an interview, Maria and Marievist Lord, are a mother and daughter who benefitted from the programme. Mary, the mother, is an entrepreneur within the Hotel and Hospitality sector and explained she decided to pursue, Refrigeration and A/C repairs, mainly to cut cost when repairing or purchasing appliances at her business.
The woman also added, that her daughter did Heavy- Duty Machinery and is a student at the University of Guyana and the choice made to go after the programmes offered by BIT provided her with the capacity and knowledge to keep her business sustained, not forgetting she can now train or encourage her staff, with the intention of them becoming individuals who are in demand because of the skills received by the semi-autonomous agency, thanks to the Government of Guyana.
So far, within three weeks, a total of 507 beneficiaries graduated in regions, 5,6 and 2 from the Ministry of Labour, Board of Industrial Training.
(Board of Industrial Training, Public Relations Department).