Sixty Grade 10 students at Freeburg Secondary School have begun a landmark six-month “Weekend Welders” programme designed to deliver internationally recognised engineering qualifications and fill critical gaps in Guyana’s expanding industrial sector.

Running under the theme “Building the foundation for the future”, the initiative was conceptualised by the Deputy Chief Education Officer for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Dr Ritesh Tularam. It aims to introduce young people to the fundamentals of welding and occupational safety, establishing a base for future technical education, apprenticeships, employment or entrepreneurship.

The course runs for 208 hours over 26 weeks at the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) workshop, located on Woolford Avenue, with the Ministry of Education providing transportation for all participating students. The programmes were specifically designed to condense a one-year programme. Combining weekday sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with weekend training on Saturdays and Sundays, the schedule is designed to simulate a commercial workshop environment, with each session dividing four hours of daily contact time between theoretical safety briefings and continuous hands-on booth instruction.

Over the six months, the programme takes students through a progressive sequence of trade skills. Early modules cover health and safety, manual handling, housekeeping, technical drawing and precision measurement. Students then move on to power tool operation, mechanical cutting and introductory engineering calculations before starting core training in Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW) and Oxyacetylene Welding (OAW). The final stages focus on workplace communication, advanced computations and practical assessments.

The entire course is aligned with the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) Level I in Welding (CCMEM10202). Students who demonstrate competence across all required units—including joint preparation, heat control and workshop safety—will receive full regional certification following final internal and external verification.

Education officials highlighted that rapid growth across construction, oil and gas, mining, manufacturing and infrastructure has created an urgent need for certified tradespeople. By holding sessions outside regular school hours, the programme provides essential vocational training without disrupting the pupils’ standard academic timetables.

Dr Tularam noted that the programme is expected to expand to additional secondary schools in 2027, incorporating other critical technical disciplines.

Beyond modernising TVET nationwide, the Ministry of Education is driving a broader mandate to ensure every secondary school student graduates with proficiency in at least one practical skill.