See full statement from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport:
Amid a booming national landscape, young Guyanese are entering a job market with unprecedented leverage. This was the central theme at the Georgetown Training Centre, where the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport officially launched the 6th cohort of the Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training (YEST) program.
The ceremony, packed with senior officials and eager trainees, heard definitive addresses from Minister Steven Jacobs and substantive Minister Charles Ramson Jr. Both officials emphasized that the initiative is a deliberate, highly strategic vehicle designed to position the nation’s youth at the forefront of Guyana’s economic transformation.
Opening the event with a resounding chant of “Yes, we can!” Minister Jacobs recognized the collective effort of the ministry’s technical leadership, specifically praising Permanent Secretary Adelle Clarke, Director of Culture Tamika Boatswaine, and Director of Youth and Member of Parliament Suresh Singh for his tireless, high-energy commitment to the youth directorate.
The Economics of Technical Skills: Outearning Traditional Sectors
A major highlight of Minister Jacobs’ address was the dramatic shift in market economics favoring skilled labor over traditional white-collar retail positions. Jacobs pointed out that public infrastructure expansion has created a massive supply-and-demand mismatch, driving wages to historic highs.
”If six years ago a skilled person was earning $8,000 a day, today they are earning $20,000 because of demand,” Minister Jacobs revealed.
To illustrate the immediate financial potential to a smiling room of trainees, Jacobs walked through the mathematics of a modern trade income, comparing it directly to standard office employment.
Trade/Role
Daily Rate
5-Day Work Week
6-Day Work Week
Estimated Monthly Income
Skilled Carpenter / Artisan
$15,000
$75,000
$90,000
$360,000
Traditional Bank Teller
Variable
Standard Flat Salary
N/A
“You will be able to earn more than someone working in a bank as a teller,” Jacobs noted, attributing this directly to the deliberate policy framework of the Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali administration. By the end of this year, the YEST program alone will have deployed 600 certified, highly capable young individuals directly into the local workforce.
Fast-Tracked, Competency-Based Overhaul
Taking the podium, Minister Charles Ramson Jr. re-emphasized that the administration refuses to treat youth development in a casual or “cass cass” manner. He underscored that the presence of the entire senior leadership team signaled that YEST is treated with maximum executive seriousness.
Ramson detailed the intense structural reforms undertaken four years ago to maximize training efficiency. The ministry successfully compressed the original nine-month curriculum into a lean, fast-paced four-month program aligned with the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) standards.
Old frame work 9 months
New framework 4 months
Defending the accelerated, competency-focused model against traditionalist critics, Minister Ramson shared his own academic experience, noting he completed a standard three-to-four-year law program in just two years with exemplary grades.
”We don’t just want you to leave here with just grades; we want you to leave here with the skills, because that is what the labor market respects,” Ramson stated. “This certification is the foundation upon which you move into the working world so that you can better yourself and your family.”
The program targets five indispensable core technical sectors:
• Welding & Fabrication
• Electrical Installation
• Plumbing
• Carpentry & Masonry
• Information Technology & Financial Literacy(including personal financial management modules led directly by Minister Ramson)
A Pathway to Further Academics
Minister Jacobs reminded trainees that technical certification is not a dead-end road. Through seamless integration with the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarship initiative—which recently celebrated 3,800 nationwide graduates—trainees can transition directly from manual expertise to advanced academic degrees.
Concluding the launch, Minister Jacobs left the trainees with structural advice for their future careers, emphasizing humility, discipline, and deep-seated focus, before echoing a powerful charge from the Head of State.
”Never allow your circumstances to define your future; let your dreams, your discipline, and your determination define who you will become.” — His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali
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