GTI hosts 2017 'Trade of Trades' Day

GTI hosts 2017 ‘Trade of Trades’ Day

Mar 23, 2017 News

…aimed at ‘fuelling the future’

A member of one Private Sector entity (right) examining a ‘hydro turbine’ created by this student and his group

The Government Technical Institute (GTI) yesterday hosted what it called a “newer, better concept of an open day activity,” which was held under the theme, “fuelling the future.”
Every gate and door of the Woolford Avenue, Georgetown institution was sprawled open generously, to give outsiders access to the laudable services and innovative contraptions put together by students.
“Most, if not all of the exhibits and projects from our students are future-based, like the solar cooker, which the students have set up in the compound to cook something, with only the power of the sun,” the institution’s Public Relations’ Officer, Alero Proctor told Kaieteur News.
She explained that the event also featured exhibitions from outside companies and agencies. These were geared at displaying employment options for students of GTI.
“It showcases where our students can go in terms of higher education and employment, with the skills and training that they would’ve acquired at GTI,” Proctor added.
Meanwhile, at the opening ceremony for the event, Chief Education Officer (CEO) (ag), Marcel Hutson opined that the time has come for Guyanese to get over the superficial stigmas attached to Technical and Vocational Education and Training in the country.
“The exhibition is a good way of creating a sense of awareness as to the potential for this field of study to national development,” the CEO added.
Hutson believes that institutions like GTI play a pivotal role to the overall development of a country. “The improvement in human development is imperative for economic development of a country, hence a prudent education system assigns priority to such in its policy formulation and ensures availability of appropriate funding for this purpose…this is evident in the Ministry’s Strategic Plan.”
Hutson highlighted, too, that the Education Ministry has in its possession a number of documents and project proposals pertaining to GTI that deserve to be looked at more closely, and eventually materialize.
“I would like to see these projects taking on a more viable form, to the extent that industries can be generated from them,” he said.
Despite the aforementioned stigma attached to trade skills, Hutson said that technical and vocational education programmes have been gradually gaining popularity, since they prepare many for fruitful employment, making them productive, economically.
Hutson went on to reference a “dual apprenticeship system” which is being used in Germany. It focuses mainly on enterprise-based training as an imperative.
Also present at the event was Vincent Alexander, Chairman of GTI’s Board of Directors. He hailed the fair as being one that has filled students of the institutions with much pride and joy.
“They have the opportunity to demonstrate to the wider community what it is they do at GTI and what they would have achieved.”
Speaking specifically to secondary school students visiting the trade fair, Alexander said that the exhibitions should serve as an inspiration, as it relates to career options.
Delivering her remarks, the institute’s Principal, Renita Crandon, said this year’s ‘Trade of Trades’ Day is geared specifically at outlining the connection between skills training and the actual working world.
Crandon is of the view that the exhibition is a clear indication of the importance of science and technology to the development of Guyana’s economy.
Reminding of the international concept of going green, Crandon believes too that the exhibits serve as clear examples of the institution’s commitment to protecting the environment.
Companies such as Banks DIH Limited, Demerara Distillers Limited, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Brass Aluminum Caste Iron Foundry, Floor It, University of Guyana, the Guyana Power and Light, E-Governance, Guyana Goldfields Incorporated, the Environmental Protection Agency, Bumper to Bumper Services, Guyana Defence Force, Guyana Industrial Training Centre, Lands and Survey Commission, Guyana Energy Agency, IPED and the Bureau of Standards, were all companies that sought to reach out to the students with career advice and opportunities.