First batch of hinterland women graduate from maritime training

Approximately 20 women from various communities in Region One, on Saturday received their certificates of completion from the Atlantic Alliance Maritime and Onshore Training Institute.

This joint scholarship programme was piloted by the Office of the First Lady, which positions women in indigenous communities to benefit from the oil and gas sector through technical training in the maritime sector and offshore industry.

Last year, 100 scholarships were secured for Indigenous women in the hinterland to be trained through the Atlantic Alliance Maritime and Onshore Training Institute. The school’s courses are accredited by Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ).

The young women were instructed in areas of Ship Security Awareness.

First lady, Arya Ali, who delivered the feature address at the graduation ceremony, urged the graduates to serve as agents of change in efforts to foster gender equality.

Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag, outlined that this programme and the resulting benefits are representations of the opportunity not just to women, but bridging a gap in Guyana where accessibility and availability of opportunities are being made to our hinterland people.

The minister noted that this improved access to education and the facilitation of integration of women into previously male-dominated fields are mere facets of Guyana’s transformational trajectory.