As the world advances technologically (and Guyana along with it), it is imperative that development does not happen in silos. Every sector, whether it be agriculture, education, health, governance, or others, relies on technology to grow, connect, and deliver. But for effective digital transformation to truly succeed in Guyana, I believe we need more than scattered projects and isolated initiatives. We need a unified national strategy, a National Digital Development Agenda. This agenda would serve as a cross-sector plan that unifies ministries, agencies, and communities under one shared vision for digital progress.
While it is true that, recently, there has been a large push toward ICT and technical fields as a whole, and that this has had a positive effect on creating a more technically fluent population, I believe that this push was much less effective than it could have been due to the overall effort by individual ministries being uncoordinated. For example, within the past five years, many ministries have hosted various robotics and ICT training sessions, but after attending these sessions myself, I’ve noticed that the majority of them are carbon copies of each other. Everything from the format, to the topics covered, even to the kits used in the lessons, all the same.
This reality has led to a problem where persons, after completing these ICT trainings, are under the assumption that they would then be eligible for an ICT-related job, whether it be at that ministry or somewhere else of their choosing. This, sadly, is not the case, since the topics covered at these trainings, no matter the ministry, all focus on the same generalized content. This has now led to a dilemma similar to what the U.S. is currently facing, where the market for technically inclined majors, more specifically Computer Science, is highly oversaturated. This is due in part to the fact that while anyone can get a Computer Science degree, the concepts covered in that degree are often too generalized to truly be applicable within the core “Computer Science” fields (such as Software Development, Cybersecurity, etc.). In the same way, the ICT trainings hosted by the various ministries are too generalized to be effectively applied to any one field. This realization leaves many ICT trainees disillusioned, since there is no real market for their newly found skills. While ICT training in any capacity is a great initiative, I believe that this is a missed opportunity.
Imagine instead if the ICT training hosted by the different ministries took on a form that was more industry-specific. A ministry could host an ICT training that not only covers the basics but also focuses on specific ICT-related skills, tools, and workflows used within the sector it represents. This would effectively allow every ministry to cut out the fluff of these generalized trainings and instead teach trainees skills that would genuinely qualify them, in some capacity, to fill an ICT-related role within that specific sector.
For example, instead of some Ministry “X” hosting five separate trainings all covering the same concepts, the ministry could instead opt to have five trainings, each covering some ICT-related aspect that is useful within the sector that ministry “X” represents. The first could focus on general ICT knowledge; the second could cover data collection and analysis relevant to the ministry’s operations; the third could train participants on using digital platforms specific to service delivery or administration; the fourth could introduce basic cybersecurity practices within that sector’s context; and the fifth could focus on emerging technologies, such as automation, GIS, or mobile apps, that could enhance how the ministry fulfills its mandate. By the end of this five-day training session, trainees would be versed in much more than just the basics of ICT; they would be knowledgeable about actual industry-specific concepts.
Some more specific examples:
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Ministry of Health
Offers training in telemedicine, electronic health records, digital diagnostics, and hospital management systems.
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Ministry of Agriculture
Leads programs in drone surveying, climate data analysis, farm sensors, and agri-business platforms.
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Ministry of Finance
Provides training in digital accounting platforms, mobile money systems, blockchain basics, and data-driven budgeting.
This shift to a more industry-specific training model would not only benefit trainees in terms of acquiring the skills needed to pursue a job within that specific sector, but it would also benefit the ministry, since it would now have a list of trained, qualified candidates to fill any vacant ICT-related roles.
This is the true promise of a National Digital Development Agenda, not just a slogan, but a strategy that brings purpose to our digital efforts. By encouraging ministries to focus on sector-specific skills development, we move beyond repetition and into real transformation. We empower people with tools they can actually use, and we support our public institutions with a workforce that understands both technology and context. If we’re serious about building a digital Guyana, then our training, our planning, and our national direction must reflect that seriousness, unified, strategic, and future-ready.
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