The Guyana Government is partnering with Canada’s Toronto Metropolitan University to develop an initiative aimed at upskilling Guyanese.
The project, which is currently in the consultancy stage, will allow qualified and certified Guyanese to be accredited by the university.
The Toronto Metropolitan University is ranked 601 in World University Rankings by Times Higher Education and has an overall score of 4.3 stars.
Therefore, when operational, the project being spearheaded by the governments of Guyana and Canada will allow for citizens here to gain a higher level of professional qualification, which will play a pivotal role in them being able to access high paying jobs.
This was disclosed by President Dr. Irfaan Ali during his remarks at the Private Sector Commission’s annual dinner on Monday night.
The Guyanese Leader explained that some 2000 Guyanese will benefit from the transformational initiative, which he noted, will address the country’s labour shortage crisis.
Among the beneficiaries will be unemployed young people qualified in the fields of auditing, accounting, software development, and healthcare, among others.
“Part of the arrangement is that the young people must be linked to the jobs that we’re training them for. So, that’s 2000 persons and I think those jobs will pay minimum US$25,000 to US$30,000 annually,” the president said.
President Ali disclosed that the 2000 beneficiaries will also include qualified persons from the diaspora.
“The diaspora has to be part of wealth creation and wealth creation is investing in innovation, investing in research are development, investing in the market, investing in getting the right technical skills that’s going to help you,” he noted.
The demand for labour locally has been growing exponentially as Guyana continues to undergo unprecedented transformation, and as a result, major industries such as the construction sector is affected.
Meanwhile, a recruitment process was launched over the weekend, through an initiative of the Student Centre, a leading higher education firm based in Barbados, with the goal of helping Guyanese students to get enrollment into one of six participating Canadian universities.
