First Lady Mrs Sandra Granger on Monday declared open the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Training Programme involving more than 30 participants in Lethem, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine).
The three-week training programme, conducted by the Office of the First Lady in collaboration with the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) and the Social Protection Ministry, will take place in the dormitory of the St Ignatius Secondary School at St Ignatius Village in the Rupununi.
In her remarks, the First Lady urged the participants to pursue education relentlessly in order to adapt to technological advances. “You are living in an age of lifelong education. Nothing stays the same… You [must] understand that technology is always changing, and this is impacting your lives even in ways that you don’t recognise at this point in time. Technology is playing a huge role in how we live our lives today… Every single day things are changing, and this is going to impact our lives in many ways… All these things are happening, and you need to be aware of it. You need to be on the cutting edge of this technology,” she is quoted by the Ministry of Presidency as saying.
The First Lady has encouraged the participants to take the workshop seriously, as the certificate awarded upon completion bears weight in the professional world. “Some of the graduates have already been employed by the National Data Management Authority to do data entry… People have gotten employment… This certificate is a serious certificate which is signed and recognised by the Board of Industrial Training… and this is recognised not only in Guyana, but regionally… This is a serious certificate, and I would like you to address it with the seriousness that we have put into it,” she said.
Vice Chairman of BIT, Donald Ainsworth, said the programme would prepare the participants to be the final solutions to problems which may plague their region.
Meanwhile, Regional Chairman Brian Allicock has encouraged the participants to build a solid support system among themselves, and to absorb as much as they can during the training.
In addition to the ICT skills, the participants will learn communication and time management skills, and cover subjects in robotics, literacy, numeracy, micro enterprising, and sexual and reproductive health.
