Clinton Williams is a prime example of what dedication, commitment, motivation and humility looks like. Despite a humble beginning, he has, and continues to occupy numerous prominent leadership positions in both the private and public sectors in Guyana.
Even though, he is now married and is the proud father of two – both of whom live and work outside of Guyana – it has not been an easy road for the country boy of a single parentage.
His mother was forced to double up as a sugar cane harvester at Albion and a subsistence farmer in the nearby village at Gibraltar/Courtland to feed her four sons and two daughters.
Williams secured a place at Berbice High School. Under the tutorship of the then Head Master, Basil Beharry, he encountered an overseas volunteer lecturer who was a Chemical Engineer from England. It was this relationship which propelled him to seek a future in the engineering profession.
After finishing high school, he found a job at the Ministry of Works’ Soil and Material Lab as a Laboratory Technician, before being accepted at the University of Guyana to read for engineering disciplines.
After graduation, Williams secured employment at the Guyana National Engineering Corporation (GNEC), which later became Guyana National Industrial Company Incorporated (GNIC), as a Technical Training Officer. He was in charge of moulding trainees, apprentices and cadets identified as future leaders of the company. He also served as a Senior Associate Lecturer at the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Technology.
Williams went on to become the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GNIC and then the Chief Executive Officer in 2001. He has headed the Shipping Association of Guyana (SAG) and the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association Limited (GMSA).
He serves also as a Chairman for the Council for Technical Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) under the Ministry of Education. He has served as Chairman of the Board of the Guyana Forestry Commission and is currently Chairman of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.
Williams obtained a scholarship to pursue a post-graduate degree in Industrial Engineering in Europe.
Following an invitation from the then Minister of Labour, Williams joined the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) in 2007. BIT has been tasked with the responsibility of not only ensuring quality assurance and certification of apprenticeship and trainee programmes, but implementation through novel training programmes, one being the National Training Programme for Youth Empowerment (NTYPE).
During the period 2012 to 2013, Williams held the position as Chairman for the Board of Directors for the Guyana Forestry Commission. The forestry sector is responsible for the sustainable management of the country’s forest reserves.
He is now Chairman of the Board of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. Williams says this role is highly challenging because this sector contributes approximately 50% of our foreign exchange earnings and 14% of Gross Domestic Product.
His major contribution has been the crafting of pertinent industrial and business development strategies considered crucial for the national development and growth of the country. More specifically, is its application to the National Development Strategy, and later on, the evolving of National Competitiveness Strategy Policy initiatives.
Williams also serves as the current Chairman of the Guyana-China Business Council.
He says, “We have a beautiful country filled with promises. It is ready to take off, but we have to put our shoulders to the wheel together to make it happen. We will need all hands on to work… this is an ample opportunity for the younger generation to step up.”
