Two hundred and sixty-eight youths from Regions Three and Four graduated last Friday with skills in a number of disciplines acquired under the National Training Project for Youth Empowerment (NTPYE) for which $75M was budgeted in 2009, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

And so far there have been 472 graduates from five previously held graduation ceremonies by  the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir, in his address said that government has an obligation to ensure that every Guyanese youth has a foundation upon which a prosperous future can be built.

This is symbolised by the $86M BIT 2009 programme which aims at graduating 1,750 by the end of the year, GINA stated.

Nadir also expressed happiness that yet another batch of young people were now better equipped to earn themselves better livelihoods and contribute to the national economy. The programme is in its fifth year.

“You young people here today are among the thousands of young people who have reassured many persons that young people are not disruptive, destructive and disobedient, and all the ‘disses’ we normally think about,” Minister Nadir was quoted as saying.

He lauded the input of parents and guardians who provided the critical support to the students, ensuring that they could make it through the six months of training.

The minister also thanked the more than 260 entities that  would have facilitated the training in the various disciplines, and challenged the graduands to keep pressing forward.

In a feature address, Minister of the Public Service Ministry, Dr Jennifer Westford, also expressed gratitude for the services of those who were involved in the training, the business entities,  and the parents and guardians who were steadfast in support of their children, believing that their lives were not merely constrained by their inability to complete secondary or higher education.

GINA quoted Minister Westford as saying, “This programme has a two-pronged effect. Some of you are going to be able to go out there, find jobs; even work for yourselves… There is another set of you here who may not be able to go out there and command a job based on the type of training that you have achieved. You have been given a basis that I am so happy about, because you are now ready for me to pick up some of you and put you for further training. So let us not look at this as the end of it all.”

The programme is part of government’s drive to reduce unemployment and functional illiteracy among youths.

Among others in attendance at the graduation ceremony were Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, and Regional Chairman of Region Four, Clement Corlette, GINA concluded.