February 15, 2026
CTVET says expanding programmes critical to meeting projected demand for 140,000 skilled workers within four years GUYANA’S workforce continues to grow and evolve across sectors and the area of skills training is no diffeent, says Director of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), Patrick Chinedu Onwuzirike.
Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle in a recent interview, Onwuzirike shared that there has been steady growth within the skills-training sector, with some 5,000 Guyanese estimated to graduate this year, compared to the council’s usual 2,000 graduates annually. This, he noted, highlights not just the interest of Guyanese but also the development of the workforce, with more people trained and available to fill existing gaps. Moving ahead, Onwuzirike added that the council, through the Ministry of Education, will continue to grow and expand to facilitate the increasing number of Guyanese seeking to become skilled and be part of a growing workforce.
Citing the council’s development to better meet demand, Onwuzirike explained that in recent years it has developed a modularised, competency-based programme to ensure that Guyanese citizens and persons across the region can study and receive a regionally accredited and recognised certificate, now known as the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ). He added that this initiative has assisted and strengthened the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) projects. To this end, the council has worked to ensure its standards remain high. “Quality assurance is not just a walk in the park. We have to make sure we have all our Ts crossed, all our Is dotted, and throughout that time have been maintaining that quality assurance. It is not an easy process, but we have been maintaining it and I am proud that we are doing some marvellous work in this area,” he said. This commitment to standards is one of the reasons the council continues to see increasing numbers of applicants and graduates. Currently, the council issues some 2,000 CVQ certificates annually. That number is slated to more than double, with Onwuzirike estimating that approximately 5,000 certificates could be issued this year. This expansion comes as the Ministry of Education broadens the offering of CVQ certificates, including at the secondary-school level.
“Currently, the Council for Activities is issuing annually about 2,000 CVQ certificates. We have started it in secondary schools, in conjunction with the CXC, we issue certificates to students leaving the secondary-school system. The ministry now has a policy that speaks to the fact that every secondary school leaver must have a CVQ certificate, or a CXE certificate, in this case, the CVQ. In combination with the Ministry of Education and what we do with the post-secondary institutions, we are estimating that this year, we might be issuing about 5,000 certificates,” he said. However, that number could double again in the coming years.
According to Onwuzirike, surveys from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), along with other studies, have projected that in the next few years, Guyana will need an estimated 140,000 skilled persons to meet workforce demands. “Very soon, we might go from 5,000 to 10,000, imagining how many students leave secondary school every year. That is something that I believe is a magnitude of work that can change Guyana as we know it,” he said.
“Recent surveys and data have shown that there are gaps in our labour market in terms of skills that are needed. We have surveys from [the] ILO, we have surveys that the Ministry of Education and the Government of Guyana would have [sic] done through the World Bank Project, and it’s pointed out to us that by the next three to four years, we have to find about 140,000 persons skilled to work in most areas in Guyana.”
This shift, Onwuzirike said, is vital to Guyana’s development. For this reason, several steps have been taken to ensure that acquiring a certificate remains accessible. The council has worked to make vocational training less intimidating by embedding academic concepts into practical applications. Additionally, programmes are now modularised, allowing students to earn statements or micro-credentials for completed units, even if they are unable to finish the full certificate immediately.
“Those that did not get the full, or did not complete the full unit, we will give them statements and say what they have done, and they can use that to go and get some work,” he said, noting that these credentials are recognised throughout the Caribbean region.
The importance of skills training to Guyana’s future cannot be overstated, according to Onwuzirike, who believes it will be transformative for the nation’s development trajectory. He pointed to international examples where strategic investment in vocational training has significantly boosted economies.
The director also highlighted that skills training is universally valuable, attracting interest even from professionals in traditional fields such as law and accounting, who recognise the practical benefits of vocational competencies.As the programme continues to expand through on-line learning options and flexible scheduling, CTVET is positioning itself to meet the growing demands of Guyana’s development, while ensuring that opportunities remain accessible to all citizens.
Source: Guyana Chronicle