President Ali says programme to train Guyanese for tech jobs to be rolled out in the coming years
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — The Ali administration is said to be working with the government of Canada to create some 3,000 technology-related jobs in Guyana over the next few years.
This is according to President Dr. Irfaan Ali, who just last month met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau concerning Guyana’s fiercely successful oil and gas industry.
Several Caribbean countries are looking to become tech hubs in the region. (Photo by Christina Morillo on Pexels)
“Before I left Ottawa (Canada), we had many discourses,” Ali said of his meeting with Trudeau.
“One of the things that you will see very soon is work towards the building of the platform in the innovative realm of things.
“I think it was in parliament that our ministers were laying out the vision whereby we want to create innovative jobs for Guyanese, the jobs of the future.”
The discussions between the governments of Guyana and Canada also focused on agriculture, food security, climate change and investments.
The Guyanese government previously said it is on a mission to transform the nation into an IT hub as part of an initiative to diversify beyond oil and gas and tourism.
Caribbean nations such as Jamaica and The Bahamas have expressed similar aims especially in the wake of the COVID pandemic, after experiencing severe economic downturn as the tourism industry faltered.
Ali said, “We are going to launch a programme where we want to have at least 3,000 of our young people in these innovative jobs in the coming years.
“Canada and Guyana will partner in developing the framework to provide the training to have our young people in these innovative jobs in the technological field.”
Tech jobs in the Caribbean
Ali did not provide further details such as when the programme is expected to come onboard or how soon the jobs would become available.
Guyana previously worked with the UAE on a coding programme. (Photo by Lukas on Pexels)
However, this is not the first such programme his administration has committed to.
Earlier this year, his government worked in tandem with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a programme to provide coding training to some 150,000 Guyanese people.
Similar programmes have been launched in Barbados and Belize, with regional economic experts identifying the information technology (IT) field as one rife with opportunity for Caribbean workers.
Skilled workers in the region may also qualify for remote opportunities with foreign employers, enabling them to earn high wages while still living in and economically contributing to their home countries.
Caribbean Employment Services Inc. encourages jobseekers in the region to pursue training opportunities and look into various government programmes that would grant them the necessary skills for IT jobs both at home and abroad.
Jobseekers can use convenient talent acquisition resources such as the Caribbean Employment Services Inc. job board to find IT opportunities they are interested in and easily apply.
Find the latest jobs in the Caribbean via Caribbean Employment Services Inc.
