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Guyanese youth must make necessary lifestyle changes to benefit from opportunities in oil sector – Min. Hamilton
Kaieteur News – Guyanese youth are being encouraged to make lifestyle changes in order to benefit from the burgeoning oil and gas sector. Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton while speaking at a seminar on labour laws and services hosted in collaboration with the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), revealed that there have been instances where Guyanese men forfeit job opportunities because of bad social choices.
Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton
“A couple of young men who could have gotten employment in the oil and gas area in companies but they do their medical yards [report]… and when the medicals were done, it suggested that they have marijuana in their system. So young people listening to me, your social life will determine whether you pass or fail going forward because I suspect coming out of oil and gas, other companies will go into that area because they want to know they are employing a person who is free of drugs,” Hamilton disclosed.
He continued, “The old labor landscape is changing and it’s changing rapidly. So a lot of things that we focus on as a job we want and we go into training for are no longer relevant. However, the Board of Industrial Training, which falls under the purview of the ministry, remains committed to providing various technical and vocational training programmes to persons and placements of apprentices in various companies.”
The minister said too that the GMSA will be instrumental in the employment process for those interested in the oil and gas sector while noting that the sector has many opportunities for apprentices and trainees.
Meanwhile, the President of GMSA, Rafeek Khan stressed on the fact that health and safety remains critical in today’s workplace. He said emphasis needs to be placed on wearing applicable safety gear at companies and in various sectors.
“It should be natural. We should want to treat health and safety as something very, very important. We should want to treat our labour laws and compliance as something very, very important regardless of which sector may be leading the charge,” said the GMSA head.
Additionally, Chief Labour Officer, Dhaneshwar Deonarine said the seminar forms part of the ministry’s continuous efforts to build fruitful partnerships with the business community and the GMSA.
This aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 17 which speaks to ‘partnerships for the goals.’
Some of the participants at the seminar on occupational safety and health included representatives/companies from the oil and gas industry, forestry, agriculture, agro-processing, poultry, pharmaceutical, arts and craft, education, machinery, and construction sectors.
Deonarine said that the ministry sees this partnership as a way to encourage, promote, and ensure compliance with labour laws related not only to the conditions of work, but also to occupational, safety and health across the country.
Similar seminars were held in 2021 and 2022, where over 8,500 employees were reached.
- Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), Guyanese, Joseph Hamilton, lifestyle, Minister of Labour
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