More than 140 graduate from BIT with life skills

More than 140 youths and single parents on Monday received their certificates after completing several months of training in various life skills, under the National Training Programme for Youth Empowerment (NTPYE) and the National Single Parents Training Programme.

The two programmes, which fall under the purview of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) through the Labour, Human Services and Social Security Ministry, have provided thousands of youths and single parents over the last decade with a second opportunity to gain marketable skills. Participants undergo training in several areas, including heavy-duty equipment, machinery repairs, caring for the elderly, catering, garment construction, and patient care assistance, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said in a release.

Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir, along with other ministry and BIT officials, congratulated the batch of successful youths and single parents at the graduation ceremony in Region Five. Nadir urged the graduates to become role models and to “always continue to strive to do better than our parents and those who graze the trails before us”.

“After five years, we would have been close to graduating in excess of 5000 young people under NTPYE and BIT… and while today we would have reached that number, I want to give credit to the former Minister of Labour Dr Dale Bisnauth and His Excellency, President Bharrat Jagdeo,” Minister Nadir said.

The decision that was taken in 2005 by President Jagdeo to launch the NTYPE, Nadir said, continues to bear fruit, as more people are being given the opportunity to develop their potential. The programme, Minister Nadir said, started with a budget of Gy$11 million which has grown to a budget of Gy$145 million in 2011.

In addition, he said that more than 250 persons graduate from the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry’s annual nine month residency programme at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre. The NTPYE, like several other programmes such as the Community Action Component (CAC) of the Citizens Security Programme, continues to target young people in vulnerable communities, he said.

“The Ministry of Health also has similar programmes … we have, every year, graduating from government programmes across the country in excess of 3000 young people with employable skills,” Minister Nadir said. “The lesson that you have learnt in making yourself available every day within the last four to six months to complete this programme, that lesson you need to tell children who are in school today about the value of them remaining in school and getting qualified, starting with CXC,” Minister Nadir said.

He informed the graduates about other services being offered by the Labour Ministry, including those of the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CRMA) that has been providing jobs for thousands of Guyanese.

The single parents were also urged to take advantage of the Women of Worth Programme (WOW), an initiative of the Human Services and Social Security Ministry and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) that affords single mothers the opportunity to access loans ranging from $100,000 to $ 250,000 to establish and expand small businesses.