If the originally stated purpose of the Government Technical Institute (GTI) was simply to provide training in “craft skills” there can be no question than that the institution that had once been identified with academic failures and school dropouts has long ‘slipped its (original) moorings” to occupy what is now widely regarded as a critical space on the local training landscape. If the GTI’s role in imparting some of the critical skills required to turn the wheels of industry and commerce in Guyana, over the years, the advent of the country’s oil and gas industry has expanded the institution, opening it up to an infinitely wider sphere of tuition-related opportunities and causing it to secure a significantly higher level of attention from both the state and the private sector.
In the instance of the private sector, the local business sector has always looked to the GTI to provide some of the critical skills necessary to keep large swathes of the private sector moving. Government, over the years, has appeared to have been relatively slow in recognizing the potential of the GTI as a relevant institution of learning, a circumstance which, for several years, kept the institution hinged to the formal school system as a kind of ‘fall back’ option for children, mostly boys, who had not made it through the formal school system. Here, it has to be said that government, over the years, must take the bulk of the responsibility for its failure to adequately invest in the all-round elevation of the GTI in order to take its image beyond that of an institution for school dropouts.
In stark contrast to the slovenly posture of political administrations, the private sector, recognizing the role that the institution was playing in enhancing the labour force, kept faith with the Institution, with private sector officials becoming strategic fixtures on the Board of the GTI. Official perspectives on the strategic significance of the GTI have been, albeit belatedly, radically altered by the emergence of the country’s oil and gas industry. Even as both government and the private sector contemplate the range of skills that have become necessary, if Guyanese are to benefit optimally from existing job openings as well as others that are certain to materialize, the GTI has come other sharper national focus, attracting the attention of both the private and public sectors.
GTI Principal Dr. Renita Crandon has, over time, become altogether familiar with the strategic role of the GTI, the role becoming increasingly relevant as the development direction of the country is increasingly navigated by the country’s oil and gas industry. On Wednesday April 26, as an extension of what has become a customary ‘open house’ to both public and private sector officials, the GTI Principal hosted a ‘sip and chat’ forum, which allowed representatives of several sectors to engage Dr. Crandon and members of her team that allowed for discourses on possible “partnerships and collaborations.” Arising out of the conversations, which addressed some of the emerging initiatives in the Guyana development tapestry, going forward, the two sides discussed possible emerging curriculum options, including courses in Customer Service, Tourism and Entrepreneurial Services. Dr. Crandon disclosed that arising out of the deliberations, the University of Guyana provided assurances of its support to ensure that GTI students who perform creditably in their respective courses benefit from the requisite exemptions from courses offered by the University. Both Dr. Crandon and GTI Welfare Officer, Alero Proctor, provided the private sector visitors with information on ways in which entities can become engaged as members of a Programme Advisory Committee concerned with offering scholarships, internships and attachments to the GTI.
The aim of the engagements between the GTI and the business sector is to ensure that the role which the GTI plays, will ensure that Guyana has an adequate cadre of skilled graduates who can contribute meaningfully to the realization of the socio-economic direction that Guyana is seeking to pursue. Among the institutions represented at last Wednesday’s forum were the University of Guyana, the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission, The Ministry of Agriculture, The Hydromet Unit, the Guyana Power and Light, Universal Emergency Care. Banks DIH Ltd., Women’s Chambers of Commerce of Guyana, the Council for Technical and Vocational Education (TVET), the Leonora Technical and Vocational Training Centre, Massy Motors Guyana Ltd, Guyana Logistics, The Guyana Marketing Corporation, L. Pool Civil Works, Cerulean Inc. and the Essequibo Technical Institute.
