AFTER being invited as special guests and honoured by the Ministry of Natural Resources for their academic achievements at the pilot “Oil and Gas Lecture” held last week, four students along with one other who successfully completed the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, met with Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, to discuss their plans for the future. Parents and guardians of the students were also present.During the meeting, the students, three of whom are planning to pursue careers in engineering, shared valuable insights with Minister Trotman on how the Government and the ministry can support them.

The feedback will be used to inform activities that will provide financial, mentorship and leadership support to prepare more young people to be integrated into the natural resources sector.

In response, Minister Trotman thanked the students for their feedback and reinforced government’s commitment to ensuring that no efforts are spared to make opportunities available for their development. He also pledged the support of the Ministry of Natural Resources, noting that the ministry’s message to young people is “we care and we want to help.” He shared some of his initial ideas with them, including plans to engage local companies and multinationals to work together to ensure that their dreams become a reality.

One of the activities that will be launched soon is a mentorship programme that will be open to a wide cross-section of Guyanese youth, who are planning careers in the natural resources sector as well as other auxiliary services that will become available as the oil and gas sector develops.

The Ministry of Natural Resources is very mindful of the important role that youth can play in development of the sector and is keen to engage in long-term endeavours that will see youth armed with the skills and experience they need to take up key roles.