Forty women from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) graduated on Friday evening from the Atlantic Maritime and Offshore Training Institute (AAMOTI) through a fully funded scholarship programme between the institute and the Office of the First Lady.
The 40 hinterland women spent the last week at the institute’s Friendship, EBD location undergoing the Basic Safety Training (BST) and Ship Security Awareness Training – both of which are accredited by the Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ).
The first lady, Arya Ali, in addressing the graduands said the choice of these courses was intentional based on veri in the Guyana Skilled Labour Assessment Study, which shows that over the next five years, Guyana’s oil and gas, construction, transportation and logistics, health, and agricultural sectors will require and additional 53,000 workers.
The graduation took place during a simple ceremony at the Baridi Benab, State House. The 40 women were the second batch of a total of 60 women who have since benefitted from the scholarship programme. A total of 100 women from the hinterland will receive training through the programme which was launched last year.
According to Ali, labour force participation rate for women in Guyana is around 50 percent, compared to about 80 percent for men and the programme aims to address the underrepresentation of women in the labour force; specifically in sectors like oil and gas, construction, shipping, and logistics.