For several years the centre had been receiving electricity from a generator that was only capable of supplying power on a standby basis, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.
Following interventions at the inter-ministry level, a commissioning was subsequently held on November 27. Senior Training Officer Dennis Gillis in an interview with GINA said the centre and its staff are grateful that such an intervention will improve the lives and conditions of the college.
“With the presence of electricity, the students can now do homework much later, or do things that they would otherwise have to wait until daylight to do and most importantly engage in other activities for their own self-development,” Gillis is quoted by GINA as saying.
Given the residential nature of the programme, the students are housed in five living quarters, four of which are occupied by males.
In August, the overhaul of a new building was completed in time to expand the accommodation facilities for the 2009-2010 programme. A new batch of 50 boys will benefit from this new residence.
In keeping with the tradition of the institution, the dormitories are given names of prominent birds in Guyana.
The senior training officer explained that the buildings were also given these names to help the students identify them easily and at the same time learn about Guyana’s flora and fauna.
The former Guyana National Service (GNS) and Kuru Kuru Cooperative College became home to the Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training (YEST) programme in the year 2000 after the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport acquired the facility.
The ten-month training programme is one which targets youths between the ages of 16 and 25, many of whom were unable to complete their schooling for various reasons.
At the college, the youths learn skills in business studies, carpentry, electrical installation, joinery, masonry, motor mechanics, plumbing and sheet metal, welding and fabrication.
And recently garment construction was added to the programme, attracting 16 females and four males.
Along with technical training the students also benefit from skills that seek to instill in them moral values.
On regular occasions social workers from the Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention (GHARP) project, the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS) and the Youth Mentorship Endeavour would visit the institution to talk with the students.
The aim of such interventions is to make the students of the KKTC more rounded individuals.
This year’s programme, as with every other, commenced in September and attracted more than 225 youths. However, with an attrition rate of six percent, the institution is now training 212 youths; 144 of whom are males and 68 females.
The tradition of males outnumbering females has been an ongoing situation according to the senior training officer who cited the type of courses being offered as the main reason.
The students are drawn from all the 10 administrative regions but a large number of them reside in the hinterland. Given that they come from areas where such training opportunities are lacking, these students are often the ones who gain the most experience.
Part of the experience involves work attachment at various organisations and institutions.
Over the years some of these have been the National Communications Network (NCN), Wales, Uitvlugt and La Bonne Intention (LBI) Estates, Regional Democratic Offices in Regions Two, Three, Four and Five, the Guyana Defence Force, Transport and Harbours Department and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, GINA added.
