Government to further expand TVET opportunities across Guyana

The Ministry of Education has announced the Government’s plan to expand Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) opportunities throughout the country, as part of a move at ensuring more skill training for young adults and children who prefer to pursue tvet education.

Speaking at the Education Ministry’s TVET fair and exposition today, Education Minister, Priya Manickchand highlighted the recently launched, National Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Policy 2025-2035, which she said is a strategic initiative aimed at equipping the nation’s workforce with the skills and competencies needed to drive economic transformation.

She explained that the Government has taken a “ground up” approach by introducing TVET education in schools across the country.

“Today, because of conscious investments and strategic partnerships, we have state of the art tvet facilities in nine of the ten regions in Guyana. I just finished commissioning Practical Instruction Centres in Mabaruma, Hope Town, BV, fellowship in region 3 and some time next week we will commission the St Ignatius and Bartica Practical Instruction Centres,” the Minister stated.

The Minister said it is important for the country to move in the direction of boosting its workforce by providing relevant skills training opportunity that will support the country’s growth trajectory.

She added that given the current shortage of skilled labour, Guyana may need to import expertise before it can fully develop a local workforce capable of supporting the country’s rapid growth and added that while reaching the stage of launching the policy was a challenge, this is just the beginning.

“We want our children to be competent in what they are going to pursue, we them to competitively engage in the various new arising sectors that are coming out of the oil and gas industry, we want them to earn, lead, and be able to take up their rightful place and that is why the emphasis is on tvet from first form,” the education minister.

The Government is hoping to expend about $18.5 billion to modernise and enhance TVET in three years up to 2027.

A plan has also has already been in place to have a single national institution that will have full oversight for planning, coordination and regulation of the sector.