Govt. anticipates greater need for healthcare workers
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Some 27 residents in Region Two are being trained to fill pharmacy assistant jobs in Guyana in anticipation of a greater need for healthcare workers as a new hospital is built.
The announcement was made by Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony, who underscored the country’s need for healthcare workers.
“When we look at the staffing needs to operate the hospital, we see that we will need more nurses, more laboratory technicians and so forth,” he said.
Guyana has launched a training programme for pharmacy assistants.
“Therefore, it is important that we start training people.”
Dr. Anthony added, “The easiest thing to do is to create the new facility and equip it. The hardest part is to have adequate staff.
“What you’re seeing here today, and what we’re trying to do, is make sure that we can start training more and more people and be able to do it in the region.”
Further, it is expected that trainees will be hired as well as have an opportunity for promotion or to venture into other fields afterwards.
He also hinted that the training programme might be expanded into fields including Medical Laboratory and Imaging.
“Now that you’re starting as a pharmacy assistant, maybe later on, once you’ve gained some experience, you may want to go into pharmacy,” said Minister Anthony.
“Those opportunities are going to be there, so there can be career paths that you would be able to navigate.”
Accelerated training programme to fill healthcare jobs
Guyana now joins several other Caribbean nations that have likewise rolled out specialized training programmes for healthcare workers.
Healthcare workers of all kinds are still in high demand.
This comes as healthcare workers in numerous fields continue to be in high demand around the world as well as in the Caribbean.
Regionally, foreign employers in Europe and North America have eagerly recruited Caribbean nurses, senior care providers and other healthcare professionals to fill gaps in their own countries.
Given the dire need for healthcare workers, countries like St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and now Guyana have all launched programmes designed to address this gap even whilst recruiting foreign healthcare workers on a temporary basis.
However, the Guyanese government has sought to assure that its nine-month programme will not disadvantage pharmacy assistant trainees.
Minister Anthony said, “It does not mean that we are leaving things off.
“You would have to spend more time, and the tutors will have to go through it with you so that you adequately cover the material.”
Find the latest jobs in the Caribbean via Caribbean Employment Services Inc.
