Canada stands ready to assist Guyana with capacity- building training for oil and gas sector

Aug 18, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The Government of Canada stands ready to assist the Government of Guyana with capacity building training in the oil and gas sector and other key areas, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Mark Berman has said.

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Mark Berman

Berman noted that Canada’s offer comes through the Canada CARICOM Expert Deployment Mechanism (CCEDM) which is a four-year programme that is funded by the Government of Canada and implemented by the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO).

The initiative allows government agencies in the Caribbean to benefit from several capacity building services through coaching, training, and workshops.

During the launch of the specialist Mathematics Teacher training programme which took place at the National Center for Education Resources Development (NCERD) on Tuesday, the High Commissioner explained that there is no limit to the advisory support that can be provided since the CESO has a roster of about 1,500 qualified instructors.

Ministry of Education is one of agencies has already been able to benefit from the CCEDM programmes. Some 30 primary school teachers from Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica) are being trained to become specialists in mathematics.

He therefore urged that other State agencies take advantage of the expertise knowledge and skills being offered by Canada at no cost to the government and people of Guyana. He posited that “Guyana, as you all know, is at a significant point in history where the country is experiencing rapid growth and the country may need expertise in certain sectors and support for certain initiatives”

The CCEDM’s Regional Representative for Guyana and Suriname Renata- Chuck-A-Sang also indicated that other government ministries and agencies have indicated an interest in benefitting from the programme.

She said, “There is training available for oil and gas, media, communications, operations management, climate change, education… For oil and gas, the Ministry of Education has already requested a programme for that…” She noted that already the University of Guyana and Ministry of Human Services and Lands and Surveys have already requested assistance from the CCEDM. She, however, clarified that the programme is a demand-driven one that requires organizations to request advisory services and the services requested must align with the organisations’ strategic plans. “The programme is demand-driven and so it must be part of their already focused work plans,” Chuck-A-Sang added.