Guyana’s Department of Public Service is preparing to embark on a countrywide needs assessment survey, with special focus on the country’s emerging oil and gas sector.
Minister with responsibility for the South American nation’s Public Service, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, says this is in recognition that the overall development of the country, in and as a result of the industry, cannot be left up to the domestic Private Sector alone.
Minister Sarabo-Haley on September 6, appeared on the widely broadcast State sponsored ‘Insight,’ prepared by the Department of Public Information (DPI) and said, the country’s training drive for the overall national human resource for the sector also needs to be taken into account by the Public Service Department.
She suggested that even if persons trained by government were to depart the public sector, as long as they remain “in-country, the country is going to be developed.”
As such, “the needs assessment survey that we intend to do, is to not only to look at the needs of the Public Service but also the needs of the entire country and how do we in the Department of Public Service, assist in the development of the needs of the country, especially as it relates to the oil and gas sector.”
Guyanese First
The Government Minister reminded that government itself will not be involved per say in providing O&G jobs and said for example, “…we don’t have an oil rig.”
According to Minister Sarabo-Haley, “the government itself would not have [O&G sector jobs] but we know that we need our citizenry aware, au-fait and educated in that particular area, the ‘up and downstream’ industries, that will come about because of that [sector].
The Guyanese Minister has since divulged that as a policy, the Department of Public Service “need(s) to also be a part of that process, in training Guyanese, so that Guyanese will be the first persons to get those jobs once they become available.”
