‘One skill is not enough’

• Minister Hamilton told Kwakwani apprentices

Minister of Labour, Hon.Joseph Hamilton, on Tuesday, met with 19 apprentices undertaking the Electrical Installation Programme offered through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) in collaboration with Kwakwani Utilities Inc. (KUI) which commenced in April 2021, in the mining and logging community of Kwakwani.

The minister in his address to the apprentices, urged them to make themselves marketable and not to limit themselves to learning one skill, but rather, do as many courses after completing each one, since the programmes are free of cost and most importantly, “the world is constantly changing .”

The training programmes which comprise of 18 males and one female, Minister Hamilton explained that the training programmes being offered through BIT are nondiscriminatory.
“I want more women to participate. It is too long the society and mostly men, defined what type of job women must have, that has to change. The programmes we do, they are not gender specific; any person can join any programme.” Hamilton posited.

Tenecia Dequoy, the lone female apprentice told INFO10 that being the only female poses an awkward feeling but acts as a booster to keep her going.
“I feel weird,because I’m the only female, but they are my greatest motivation; in a sense, I always feel I have to be on top of my game”Dequoy said.

Dequoy also related her interest of undertaking multiple training programmes following the completion of her present training programme. She’s also desirous of gaining employment at KUI in the capacity being trained.

KUI’s General Manager, Mr.David Adams, on Tuesday during a guided tour of Min.Hamilton at the Kwakwani Power Plant along with apprentices informed media operatives of his desire to provide a wide spectrum of training opportunities to youths in the Upper Berbice District.
“At present we are doing the electrical installation; however, in the future, KUI plans to take this programme further as we want to expand. We have a power plant; we have a water plant and we have general maintenance and as such electrical and mechanical engineering is vast and we find that in this country today we don’t have power engineers.
I would like to see young people engaged in power generation. We have more power generation engineers; we are now going to move to diverse electrification in this country very soon, ” Adams said.
The sub-region’s technical BIT Officer, Pam Ramberran, who was also present, commended the apprentices for their hard work and dedication. Ramberran in an invited comment extended high praises to Carlton Drakes, BIT Electrical Installation training Officer.
Dequoy attests to the high quality of training being offered.
“Mr.Drakes is 100 percent attentive, he is very very attentive to us; if you don’t know something, he goes over and over until you get it, ” Dequoy told this media house.
Drakes is also an employee of KUI, who serves in the capacity of a Quality Control Officer. He has also served as an electrician at the said company.