Govt. seeks to train new workers, but healthcare shortage still exists
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — With the country’s economy still set to grow exponentially in the near future, more healthcare jobs in Guyana are coming onstream.
The growth has reached a point where staffing gaps have become a major concern, especially as healthcare workers have already been in high demand since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To help address the shortage, the Guyanese government is rolling out a targeted training programme that aims to directly train local residents in diverse healthcare sectors, and then provide them with jobs in Guyana.
The govt. plans to train workers in respective regions in Guyana.
According to a statement by the government’s media organization, “Guyana still has many gaps to fill even as the health sector continues to grow on a large scale.
“These include nurses, assistant nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, and laboratory technicians.
“As such, the ministry made the decision to decentralize many of its existing training programmes and train people within the regions to fill those gaps.”
Guyanese Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony spoke to the need for the training programme to be decentralized to help ensure each region has enough workers.
“We feel that if we select people from the region to be trained to work in the region, we will have a larger amount of retention,” he said.
“In the past…moving people around became very problematic.
“So, we thought it’s important to take people from the region, train them and let them come back to work in the region, and that would work for everybody.”
The promise of jobs
To start the initiative off, some 38 young Guyanese in Region 10 officially started their training earlier this month.
Competition for the chance to participate in this programme was tough, as the government noted the 38 candidates were selected from a rich pool of over 200.
It's expected that the country will need to hire far more workers to keep up with its economic growth.
“Upon completion, participants will be contractually obligated to work within the region at a starting salary of around $100,000,” according to the government.
“They will also be given the option to enter other health programmes and continue to upskill, with the aim of becoming nurses, doctors and specialists in the medical field.”
However, it’s likely that Guyana’s healthcare sector will need to hire far more workers from here on out.
Experts have already predicted that the country will need hundreds of thousands more workers just to keep up with its intense growth over the next year, with Guyana being reportedly among the fastest-growing nations in the world.
Healthcare professionals looking for a change of career or new graduates looking to enter the field can use resource sites like Caribbean Employment Services Inc. to keep their eyes peeled for opportunities that crop up.
Find the latest jobs in the Caribbean via Caribbean Employment Services Inc.
