Guyana’s ancient county, Berbice, is set to house a new Occupational Safety and Health Centre, a vision backed by The Greater Guyana Initiative and LearnCorp International.
A sod turning was held on July 11 in the compound of the New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI) to mark the start of the development.
“Transforming the safety culture of an entire nation is no small feat,” Phil Doody, LearnCorp Chief Executive Officer, remarked. “But I am convinced that we have the right people, the right programs and the right partnerships to achieve that vision.”
Doody underscored the significance of launching the Occupational Safety and Health Centre of Excellence, calling it “a bold vision for what safety education in Guyana can and should be.”
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He shared that the facility will host the reintroduction of the CVQ Level 3 Occupational Safety and Health diploma, creating “a pipeline of highly skilled, safety-conscious professionals to support Guyana’s rapidly expanding industrial sector.”
The long-term goal, he said, is for safety training to become a national standard. “Our vision is clear, that this program… will ripple outward into the wider communities, into households, and ultimately be embraced by industry as a national minimum standard for occupational safety and health training.”
Roydon Croal, Assistant Occupational Safety and Health Officer at Guyana’s Ministry of Labour, touched on the ministry’s support for the Centre, especially in light of sobering statistics: “Unfortunately, in 2024 we saw a rise in workplace fatalities. Thirty-two lives were lost on the job.” He highlighted the value of collaboration, “The ministry proudly supports this initiative… and we continue to collaborate with industry partners and TVET institutions.”
Alistair Routledge, President of ExxonMobil Guyana, emphasized the deeper purpose behind the Centre of Excellence, noting that safety must be treated as a discipline.
“Safety is not about chance,” he asserted. “There is a science to it. There are procedures and processes. There are ways to organize ourselves, and that is what we are laying the foundations for today.”
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Routledge framed the Centre as a springboard for building a national safety culture rooted in knowledge, systems, and accountability, and expressed confidence that its impact would resonate across all sectors of Guyana’s workforce.
