Guyana is looking to recruit foreign labour as the country experiences what President Dr. Irfaan Ali described as ‘monumental growth’.
Ali told the Saint Lucia business community that his country’s economy grew by nearly 40 percent in 2023.
In addition, Guyana expects continued double-digit growth in the coming years.
However, the resource-rich South American country has a labour shortage.
As a result, President Ali told an extraordinary Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture luncheon that his country is seeking foreign workers.
“We have to capitalise fully on the regional labour, and then we have the huge diaspora that I think will return in a very, very strong way,” the President told local business people.
He cited several reasons for his conclusion, including the skills of Guyanese living overseas.
“You have a lot of teachers, nurses and so on,” Ali noted.
He indicated that the benefits Guyana would offer those individuals would be highly competitive compared to anywhere else, providing a great incentive to return home.
The Guyana leader revealed an acute shortage in his country’s medical field that needs thousands of nurses.
As a result, Guyana is offering free training for any Guyanese who wants to enter that field, a stipend during training, and a guarantee of employment.
In addition, President Ali said his country was retraining and retooling single mothers and housewives and returning them to work, creating disposable family income.
He explained that disposable income growth in the family augments community income, resulting in an exponential increase in the national disposable income.
“Disposable income drives spending, spending drives demand, demand drives supply and the whole economy trickles itself into aggression,” Ali told private sector officials.
