Minister Persaud urges GuySuCo graduates to become agents of change

BY MICHAEL ITWARU

The GuySuCo Training Centre at Port Mourant, Corentyne turned out another batch of apprentices at its 50th graduation exercise on Monday, July 18. Forty-five craftsmen received certification after successfully completing two years of in-house and in-plant training respectively, while 12 adult sugar boilers’ apprentices also received their certification.

The best graduating apprentice was Subashchand Mahabir, an instrument repairs mechanic from Wales Estate, who gained four distinctions.

Vickram Persaud from the LBI Estate was awarded the final Watson Award and adjudged the valedictorian of the batch.

The 2011 Alumni Award was presented to second-year student Dhaniram Jaipersaud. A group of old students from Canada had committed to providing the top prize yearly to the two top performers of the training centre. First-year apprentice Joel Ramprashad attracted two awards for his outstanding performance.

In the feature address, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud urged the craftsmen to stay with the industry and use their skills to help realise the successful turnaround of the troubled sugar industry. He reminded them of government’s commitment to improving the country’s human resource capacity.

It was noted that, having the requisite skills is the key to moving any organisation and the country forward. Mention was made of government’s input in setting institutions to help in the training of the young people with marketable technical and vocational skills. Persaud noted that the education sector gets the largest annual allocations from government yearly. The minister disclosed that there is a shortage of skilled personnel in the sugar industry, since there are other options of earning a livelihood.

“If we go to some of the new facilities that we are building – be it the state-of-the-art factory at Skeldon… the power generation unit… or recently-commissioned packaging plant – we do not have the abundance of skills required to move these forward and there are other investments that we are making in the sugar industry…. We can see that our development is in a way being stymied by inadequate resources capacity… you go to the private sector and the story is the same.” The minister also took the opportunity to encourage the graduates to have faith in the sugar industry, and declared that the future of cane sugar is very promising. “I want to say that we are now, from all indications, entering a very good patch… seeing positive signs in our turnaround efforts… these positive signs would have to be nurtured and fertilised…. and it can only be nurtured and fertilised through the commitment of those working in this industry,” the minister said.

Persaud told the graduates to adopt a modern approach towards changing the industry as it moves closer to a complete turnaround.

“Change the attitude, change the mindset… change the old thinking in the industry, change the whole approach where we see the industry as something that we can only get from, rather then we give to… let us change that mentality.

It requires a new and fresh perspective, and I know the board, the management, they have been seeking to bring about some of those changes.” “I want you at your different levels to help accelerate this process… it requires the unions, both NAACIE and GAWU, and everyone onboard… there is a very bright future for sugar. Do not be daunted because there are others out there who would want the sugar industry to fail.” GuySuCo’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Rajendra Singh, in brief remarks, challenged the graduates to keep up with the rapid changes in the industry and modernisation of the sugar factories.

“There are plans in place to upgrade every single factory in our industry, and we must be prepared for that… The manager alluded to the constant changing and upgrading of the curriculum… that would be a feature that would be ongoing because technology is changing and every day there are advances in that world,” he said.

Singh pleaded with members of the batch, who are now permanent employees, to transfer the mannerisms and discipline acquired at the training centre to the workplace, and to give back to the industry.

‘There is a very worrying situation … the company is spending at the current time about Gy$200 million a year in this institution in routine expenditure… GuySuCo does not see it as expenses, we see it as an investment and plead with you: please stay with our industry, work with it, develop it.” The quality of the intake remains high, and the industry wants to continue to maximise the places available, but Singh bemoaned the fact that about 80 per cent of graduates have immediately moved to other industries and to greener pastures over the past 15 years.

The training centre’s manager, Lall Persaud, in delivering his report, stated that the facility is poised to enhance its delivery of skills training, with GuySuCo and government coming together to create a new outlook for the centre. He also stated that the alumni in Canada and U. S. A. will continue to play a greater role in the development of the facility, pointing to the standard of training and skills acquired by apprentices who passed through the centre and are now overseas leading successful lives.