The Business Interview
Hello Arnon please see my comments .. dont know if they really amount to anything but we can discuss after you would have reviewed and butchered it .. I trust your judgement.
Peter
Questions:
SB: Your CV suggests that a considerable portion of your career has been spent in training in the private sector. Given the multi-faceted entrepreneurial direction in which our oil-driven economy appears to be going can tell us about the kind of training regime that you would wish to see implemented to support business in Guyana?
PB: I would like to see greater efforts being place on expanding training for women in Technical and Vocational training in such areas as Heavy and light equipment and machine operators , welders, millwrights , which have been traditionally the domain of their male counterparts. As the industries grow and the economy expand there is a growing demand for skills and it is time that a more concerted effort be made to focus on women being trained.
Secondly the Hospitality Industry has taken off and expanding at such a fast pace that the demand for those skills needed in the industry is outpacing the supply .. persons are responding to vacancy notices but the training required is lagging .. we have to be able to meet this urgency .. no longer can we look down at these jobs as menial but as equal providers in the vocational trade
Thirdly we have been guilty of significant neglect in the training and focus of HSE over the many years .. in the past it was treated as a non-important focus was only on the foreign companies to meet and adhere to their International standards .. Recall the OSHA Guyana was introduced during the Omai period .. at this time whilst there is need for further improvement to that Act. the best practices and international standards must forge ahead in our training regime
SB: How do you see your own ‘agenda’ for training fitting in with Guyana’s development direction at this time?
PB: Our Agenda at the GPSM Consultants Inc. is wide and indeed caters for several sectors and industries in country .. from the inception GPSM Consultants have partnered with several reputable training agencies in the Caribbean to offer Internationally recognized certified training in HSE, Technical courses in Reliability and Maintenance Engineering , Hospitality training and most recently we have teamed up with the Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity (BIMAP) this institute is geared to offer training to persons working in the Public Service
What is good about the programs being offered by the GPSM Consultants is that many of the courses are done online and where there is need for in person and practical sessions the trainers are available to conduct same .. we have established a relationship with the GTI to utilize their facilities and in instances where the facilities are deficient to supply the needed equipment . We are capable of meeting the urgent and growing demand.
Our Hospitality Training programs have been geared to meet all aspects of the various trades in this industry .. our trainers have been doing this for the Tourism industry in the Caribbean and abroad working for the Cruise Line Industry.
SB: It is generally felt that, over the years (and outside of the traditional government scholarship (academic) training regimen) enough has not been done to build a skills in some of the practical disciplines that have to do with people running their own businesses. Do you consider this observation to be generally true and how do we turn this around?
PB: I agree with those observations. Many of our entrepreneurs both young and old have not been recipients of the schoolings from the several outstanding secondary schools in Guyana hence they do not possess the lofty qualifications .. yet many of them have given very good account of their success in business. There is a paucity of training designed to meet the screaming demands of the micro and small business owners. I am aware of the efforts of both the Small Business Bureau and IPED but there needs to be a more structured and consistent set of programs which should be available continuously for these business owners or intending entrepreneurs to access. It is quite evident that the returns from these persons are significant in many ways ..
SB: Do you think that our local Business Support Organizations have a role to play in training to meet the needs of the country’s transforming business/economic outlook and are those BSO’s (PSC, GMSA, GCCI etc) doing sufficient at this time to respond adequately to that particular responsibility.
PB: Yes they do have a major role to play in this regards. I am aware that in most countries such organizations have very active training arms which are used to provide the training for their membership. What comes to mind in CAGI ( the Consultative Association of Guyanese Industry Ltd)it was very active in the early days a leading light was Mr. Yankana .. Training was offered to employees of both the private and public State enterprises ..( funny CAGI was more active during the days of the State owned Industries)
Technical and Vocational Skills training is not only a Government function it is as much that of the Private sector through its BSOs .. In Guyana they are well positioned to offer such training as they are located in each region in Guyana in one form or the other. And any investment in these training will redound to the benefit of the sector. It really is really unfair to claim no skills when nothing is done to support the development of skills and the upskilling of existing ones and the retention of those available.
SB: Given your own involvement in training through your own private sector company where would you wish to see the emphasis placed insofar as a relevant training regime is concerned?
PB: I would like to see more emphasis place on Technical and vocational training to meet the present and upcoming demands. The demands are in all sectors of Guyana and not only in the Energy Industry .. whilst that is a big money earner .. the need is equally there in the Mining and Construction and Agricultural sectors to name a few.. I have already named those relevant skills earlier ..
I have not mentioned supervisory management training an area seriously lacking .. good and well trained supervisors would develop into sound committed and dedicated managers ..asd we train to increase and improve the quality of our TEVOC skills we should also do the same for our supervisory skills .
SB: What are some of the essential AND PRACTICAL SKILLS/DISCIPLINES that need to be particularly focused on as part of our training regimen and why?
I have mentioned some of the practical Skills needed to sustain an efficient organization. ???
SB: Should skills training be a predominantly private sector pursuit or should it be a public/private sector endeavor? There Are many people who believe that training should be left to the ‘Training Professionals.’ What is your view?
PB: It should be both as I have mentioned in the case of CAGI and even so the BSOs should compliment that effort. The Government should focus on providing the existing Technical Schools and this should include the Carnegie School with the relevant support in terms of equipment and material and to continuously expose the lecturers to changing technology through advance training. I say this being a past Board member on several of these Institutions.
The Training professionals like myself and the many others can support the quality of the programs and should be given the opportunity by the BSO’s and the Government to make such contribution thus improving the quality of the training offered.
PB: If you had to put your finger on the (overall) critical areas in which there are training deficiencies, in which areas would you say we are particularly deficient?
We have fallen short and it seems to be a clear case that we have not been up to par with the changing pace of technology. Our Technical Schools are not partially equipped with the kind of equipment and workshops needed to meet the demands of the day. Say what you like the Technical schools still produce the largest number of raw technical skills for all of the various industries yet we do not see them celebrated as we see CXC passes etc.
We have not done a good job on having students getting work attachment which would give them hands on experience to new technology and exposure to work. There need sto be a major commitment from businesses to have students participate in work attachment.
I am still a believer that instead of building new facilities to support new industries we should instead be putting such efforts in the existing Technical Institutes and to expose the qualified lecturers to the relevant training .. this way we would see a wider distribution and participation. There is still work to be done with TVET and recently the efforts to sensitize the public on the training opportunities must be commended.
I would like to see the Board of Industrial Training be a facilitator that a training agency .. It should certify all Technical Training in Guyana .. students or employees undergoing such training should have their curriculum approved by the BIT and certified by them upon completion .. to do this the agency will have to be upgraded and personnel trained.