Another 50 individuals graduated on Tuesday from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Early Childhood Development programme (Childcare Level 3 course), each receiving a $100,000 grant to kickstart their own childcare facilities.
The course, which aims to further upskill individuals in childcare, was conducted through the Childcare and Protection Agency in partnership with the Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN).
Speaking at the graduation ceremony held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud disclosed that since 2021, over 3,200 persons have been trained in the Childcare course from levels one to two.
To further strengthen childcare services, the Ministry introduced the Level 3 course, offering advanced training in Early Childhood Development (ECD) with a special focus on children from birth to 3 years and 9 months, and also constructed infrastructures to support this level of childcare.
“𝐖𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐥. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟑 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬,” Minister Persaud explained.
She added that the course was developed through close collaboration and drew on a wide range of expertise from the University of Guyana. While this was a significant achievement, the Minister of Human Services further revealed that the Ministry will soon introduce Level 4 of the early childhood programme, focused on Special Needs Education, ensuring that every caregiver is fully prepared to support children from diverse backgrounds.
“𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟒,” the Minister charged the graduates.
Meanwhile, the Director of CPA, Levine Gouveia, said that the training emphasises holistic development such as cognitive, physical, social, and emotional growth, while also ensuring caregivers understand and comply with national childcare standards and regulations.
“𝐁𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟑, 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭,” the director stated.
The Ministry has actively encouraged the establishment of care centres, exemplified by the newly constructed Day, Night Care, and Early Childhood Development Centre in Region Three. This state-of-the-art facility will serve as a practical training hub for participants, enhancing their skills and expertise over time. Recently, the Ministry also finalised its Home-Based Care Policy, opening doors for women to enter the formal care sector.
Through this initiative, women can establish their own care facilities while receiving comprehensive support from the Ministry, including technical guidance, specialised training, and financial grants. Graduates were encouraged to form consortia, a strategy proven to be highly successful, allowing them to embark on their professional journeys alongside like-minded peers who share the same training and vision. (Ministry of Human Services and Social Security press release)
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