‘Hire more youth’ – Manufacturing Association President urges companies 

President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), Rafeek Khan urged companies to hire more young people, noting that doing so will help address labour shortages while providing gainful opportunities to the nation’s youth.

Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday, Khan said the demand for workers remains the “number one cry for businesses and companies.”

He explained that companies are eager to hire but many young people remain unemployed as they have not been able to capitalise on the job opportunities available now. And so, he urged businesses to now look at more deliberate ways of bringing young people into the workforce, including through part-time employment for university students.

“We as companies are going to be looking to see how we can get young people into our companies and be able to bring them into that ecosystem.

“Whether you are in university, you are welcome to start working and have part-time jobs with companies and businesses,” Khan emphasised.

The Association President also admitted that manufacturers could do more and called for more intentional recruitment efforts from universities and schools, as well as expanded internship programmes within businesses.

“There is a high demand for skills in every single sector,” the President said, pointing to opportunities in administration, manufacturing, quality control, artisan trades, and craftsmanship.

According to Khan, young people account for approximately six to seven per cent of employment in some areas. What’s more troubling to those in his sector is that many young workers are hesitant to enter traditional manufacturing and primary production roles.

To address this, the GMSA is urging companies to help young people better understand how they can fit into modern manufacturing, especially in emerging areas such as information and communications technology (ICT).

The manufacturing sector, meanwhile, is seeing increasing participation from women. The President highlighted that women are becoming a major contributor to the sector’s growth, with many GMSA companies now employing between 30 and 40 per cent women in manufacturing roles.