Guyana-Barbados committee set up to advance tourism training
A working committee comprising members drawn from the Guyana and Barbados tourism industries has been set up to fine-tune arrangements for the planned training of Guyanese within the next two years.
Providing an update on the discussions, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond said that the team met on Tuesday last and engaged in a fruitful discussion to advance the vision of having a skilled workforce to meet the needs of the tourism industry.
Walrond told Stabroek News that the team, which comprises members of the public and private sectors, is identifying areas where help is needed and will be working to identify training courses.
She also stated that the working team will also determine how best the training will be conducted and propose a possible commencement date.
According to her, by the end of the year, the working group should provide her and Barbados Tourism Minister Lisa Cummins with an update on progress.
She said discussions will be delayed for a while as the island is currently engaged in celebrations of its Republican status and Independence.
The arrangement with Barbados was announced after bilateral discussions between President Irfaan Ali and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development that was hosted on the island.
Ali subsequently told a press conference that Barbados, whose economy is heavily reliant on tourism, has agreed to train 6,000 Guyanese for the hospitality sector as part of a framework for enhanced collaboration.
“You know Barbados has an established, worldclass hospitality programme and they are going to support us in a training of 6,000 Guyanese who will function in the hospitality sector…we have to move aggressively with the 6,000 Guyanese because we have a lot of investment in the hospitality sector that is coming and we need to have the technical capacity, [and] the human resources to manage and to the work in those hotels,” he explained.
In a subsequent interview, Walrond highlighted that at a time when there is a buzz over the creation of a strong local content policy and the need for Guyanese to benefit from the emerging sectors of the economy, equipping locals with the skills is of the utmost importance for the government.
Asked if hotel developers should not invest in the training of their employees, the minister stated that the government has to ensure the skills and services are available, leaving no room for the importation of employees to do the jobs locals can. “We want to be able to say, ‘We have our people; they are trained and ready…’ They are our people, they are Guyanese. We continue to make the point that local content is where companies should go, even though they are private investors. We are not going to encourage them bringing foreigners to do the jobs our people can do…,” said Walrond as she emphasised that the necessary infrastructure to support local content must be in place.
She stated that with the locals trained in the sector, brands can be able to move forward with specific training aligned with their franchise without having to start from scratch.
The discussions will be centred on cost of the training, how the training will be done, the number of batches that can be trained at a time, and whether persons can be trained to be trainers to transfer knowledge to fellow Guyanese at home, among other things.
Several international hotel chains have signaled their intention of setting up operations here. These include the Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and Radisson Blu. Currently, two hotels, Marriott Courtyard at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri and Aiden Hotel by Best Western have entered the construction phase. A few others have signed Memoranda of Understanding with the government to begin construction.