With 2,000 workers needed for maritime sector, gov’t supporting new certification programme

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Tuesday revealed that at least 2,000 individuals are needed over the next five to seven years to meet the growing demand of the country’s maritime sector. And so, to meet this demand, the government is partnering with the United Kingdom and Nations University to establish a certification programme.

“I was talking to Mr Thomas and his team recently, they said to me that, the future demand over the next five to seven years, we will need to train at least 2000 persons to work in this sector and we are aggressively pursuing a human capital development programme that is not only going to train our people but to have them certified,” President Ali told those who attended the Shipping Association of Guyana networking and business mixer on Tuesday evening.

The goal, the Head of State explained, is to train and certify 100 per cent of Guyanese to support maritime and offshore operations.

He emphasised that the maritime industry is central to Guyana’s national development strategy and commended private sector investments that are already transforming the industry, pointing to new dockyards, dredging operations, and modern docking facilities.

A US$120,000 initiative to train women for careers in the maritime sector is ongoing through a partnership between Tidewater Inc. and the Office of the First Lady.

Through this three-year project, 10 young women will pursue Cadet Certificate training programmes as officers-in-charge of navigational watch or officers-in-charge of engineering watch. The final year of training will be spent onboard a seagoing ship.