Minister Parag hails new OSH Centre of Excellence as major boost for TVET locally and regionally

Minister Parag hails new OSH Centre of Excellence as major boost for TVET locally and regionally

Friday, September 11, 2026 - Minister of Education, Hon. Sonia Parag on Friday, September 11, attended the commissioning ceremony for the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Centre of Excellence, located in the same compound as the New Amsterdam Technical Institute in Region Six.

The state-of-the-art OSH Centre was established through a partnership involving the Greater Guyana Initiative, the Ministry of Education, the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training and LearnCorp International.

It will serve as the official host of the Level Three Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) in Occupational Safety and Health Programme, as well as a national and regional training hub dedicated to advancing occupational safety and health standards.

At the event, Minister Parag said the facility aligns with the government’s 2025 manifesto commitment to build capacity through the expansion of technical and vocational education and training.

“This is an entire facility that is going to serve not only our core ambition for expanded technical skills nationally, but it’s also going to become a regional hub, and that’s where we want to take it,” said Minister Parag.

Minister Parag also stressed that the expansion of technical skills must go hand in hand with stronger occupational safety standards in the field.

“We cannot say that we’re an oil-producing nation and we are developing at a pace that is now called the fastest-growing economy…and then we do not take care of our most valuable asset, which is our people,” the Minister asserted.

She noted that the success of the training centre will ultimately be measured not only by the number of students enrolled, but also by how many go on to become leaders of excellence in Guyana and further afield.