Guyana: Women Empowerment in Energy Programme launched in Bartica, Region 7

Guyana: Joint efforts between the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Small Business Bureau (SBB) and the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, a memorandum of understanding was signed on September 13, 2022, aimed to train 200 women in Basic Solar PV Technology under the Women Empowerment in Energy Programme (WEEP).

On Monday, October 17, 2022, thirty-five (35) women of Bartica, including women living with disabilities, signed onto the Basic Solar PV Technology training programme, which will enhance their capacities in the emerging solar energy sub-sector and their PUE – Productive Use of Energy.

The solar PV training would be operated over three weeks and consist of practical and theoretical aspects of PV repairs, which is a part of a holistic intervention to create capacity in Lethem, Bartica and Madhia, providing up to 3MW solar PV farms financed under GY-L106.

CEO of BIT, Richard Maughn; Human Resources Officer of BIT, Melinda Kelly, Administrative Assistant Indira Singh; Technical Officer with the responsibility of Region Seven, Joseph Barratt and Prime Minister Representative Ewrin Ward attended the launch along with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) representative and Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) BIT’s role will facilitate the training and certifying of the Trainees on completion and their achievement of the competencies training programme.

In a brief interview, many of the young women expressed gratitude for being part of the programme. They highlighted some of the benefits they will be exposed to individually, and by extension, their communities, concerning access to renewable and reliable electricity in the Hinterland communities.

The WEEP programme is a component of the Energy Matrix Diversification and Institutional Strengthening of the Department of Energy (EMISDE) Program – Project No. GY-L1066 project, funded by a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).