The Guyana Prison Service (GPS) has commenced a three-day training fair to strengthen officers’ skills and improve their ability to support inmate rehabilitation.

The event is being held at the Prison Headquarters auditorium and compound and forms part of the service’s 43rd-anniversary celebrations under the theme “Engage, Learn and Grow.”

GPS Chief Officer Trudy DeCunha said the fair is the first of its kind and seeks to renew staff interest in personal and professional development through interactive learning.

“It’s a fun, interactive approach whereby they can come, learn, enhance those skills that they would have already acquired, and also learn new things,” she explained.

The fair features booths showcasing prison management, information technology, reception, languages and the work of the strategic department.

DeCunha said the displays will help staff better understand the responsibilities of different sections within the service while encouraging them to develop their knowledge and skills.

She stressed that training officers is essential to the service’s rehabilitation mandate.

“We understand the importance of rehabilitation, and we can only rehabilitate the inmates effectively when the officers are trained to do so,” she said.

A recruitment drive is part of the event, offering interested persons the opportunity to join the service.

Members of the public are also being encouraged to attend and learn about the training provided to prison officers.