Residents of Unity and surrounding communities of East Coast Demerara will soon benefit from the rehabilitation of the Unity Learning and Resource Centre and the construction of a cutting-edge Welding and Fabrication facility, following a $23.7 million contract signing on July 7th, 2023.
The facility will be built in accordance with the Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQs) standards and is expected to be completed before year-end.
The Ministry of Labour, inked this life-changing contract with the Perba Trading and Construction for the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) to boost its efforts to equip citizens with the skills needed to sustain a livelihood.
It also aligns with the Government’s manifesto to providing technical and vocational training programmes to fulfill the country’s skilled labour needs, particularly in the Oil and Gas sector.
Hon. Joseph Hamilton, Minister of Labour, Mr. Bishram Kuppen, Permanent Secretary, Ms. Denise Sealey, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BIT, Ms. Saskia Eastman-Onwuzirike, and other officials bear witness to this signing ceremony.
During the signing ceremony, Minister Hamilton stated that the exercise is simple but significant as it aims to the change the lives of citizens by providing accredited training opportunities.
“We have to prepare our people for the world that is before them,” he explained. “The intention is to utilize the facility to take people there, to re-train them to be certified and accredited,” he noted. Once the facility is completed, the ministry plans to commence its training programmes specifically welding and fabrication programmes, at the highest level in 2024.
The minister further stated that in 2024, similar infrastructural development will be rolled out in Regions One (1) and Eight (8), to empower residents there through technical and vocational training programmes to improve their quality of life.
Recently, the Ministry signed two contracts totaling $84 million for the construction of two new training facilities in New Amsterdam and Corriverton, Region Six. Soon, rehabilitation works will be conducted at the Bartica Learning Resource Centre, Region Seven (7), and North Rupununi, Region Nine (9) to provide citizens with training opportunities.
Board of Industrial Training| Public Relations Department
