A US$14M Skills Development and Employability Project scheduled to last from June 30, 2017 to December 31, 2021 has been inked between the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Guyana. This is according to Minister of Finance, Mr. Winston Jordan, represents yet another developmental move.
The overall outcome of the project is to assist the Guyana Government to enhance access to, and improve the quality and effectiveness of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system.
Speaking on Guyana’s behalf at the signing event in the Turks and Caicos which was attended by President of the CDB, Dr. Warren Smith, CDB Vice President Corporate Services Yvette Seale, CDB Vice President (a.g.), CDB Operations Monica LaBenett, CDB, and Finance Ministry staffers, Minister Jordan reminded that Government came to office two years ago with a strategic vision of creating “a good life in a green economy.”
Central to the realisation of this vision, he explained, is the development of Guyana’s human resources. “Education remains the corner stone to economic development and is seen as “the golden ticket” to a better life. A highly educated and skilled workforce is necessary, though not sufficient, condition for the diversification of Guyana’s economy, and the harnessing of our vast natural and mineral resources in a way that supports sustained growth and improved living conditions.”
The Minister added that the performance of many students at the Caribbean Secondary Education Council Examinations implies, “that the majority of our secondary level cohort is not up to the standard required for tertiary level education.
He moreover emphasized that Government’s focus is on strengthening secondary and tertiary levels education by enhancing the schools’ curricula, especially in the areas of science and technology. This, he stated, involve the development of SMART classrooms through e-government systems; enhancing teacher competence via improved toolkits and supervision in the classroom; building state-of-the-art schooling facilities; and ensuring alignment of schooling standards to CVQ standards, and other regional and international standards.