Guyana’s Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) are moving to strengthen collaboration as businesses face increasing difficulty finding skilled workers in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
The issue was discussed on Wednesday when Labour and Manpower Planning Minister Keoma Griffith met with members of the GCCI, a leading private sector body in Guyana’s capital city.
The engagement focused on labour shortages and workforce development, two issues that have become increasingly important as Guyana’s economy expands rapidly, driven largely by growth in oil and gas, construction, infrastructure, logistics, retail and commercial activity.
The meeting was chaired by GCCI Councillor and Executive Member Delmar Walcott and brought together private sector representatives who raised concerns about the difficulty of sourcing skilled labour, particularly in the construction and commercial sectors.
Griffith told the business community that the GCCI remains a key partner in national development and said the private sector has an important role to play in helping Guyana close its labour gap.
“The GCCI is a very, very crucial partner and stakeholder in development. The private sector is very important in the work that we do,” the minister said.
As demand for workers increases, Griffith said the Labour Ministry has been taking steps to reduce the mismatch between available workers and the skills required by employers. He said part of that effort includes encouraging more young people to pursue technical and vocational training in areas where labour demand is high.
“We are doing certain things to try to bridge that gap and to allay some of the difficulties that we have been experiencing as it pertains to labour,” Griffith said.
The minister also addressed the issue of migrant labour, reminding employers that foreign workers must be hired in keeping with Guyana’s work permit laws. He urged businesses to ensure that all migrant employees follow the legal procedures required to work in the country.
Griffith also pointed to the Ministry’s national job bank, a platform designed to connect employers with job seekers as part of the government’s wider manpower planning strategy.
According to the minister, approximately 1,900 people have registered on the platform so far in 2026, with around 500 securing jobs through the initiative.
He said the Ministry is also working with the Bureau of Statistics and other stakeholders to better understand labour market trends, identify areas of shortage, and determine where skills may be overlapping or underused.
“We are currently engaging some of our partners, the Bureau of Statistics and other stakeholders, to understand what is happening on the ground, where there is overlap, where there is shortage,” Griffith said.
The Labour Minister added that collaboration with the Ministry of Education will also be important to ensure that training programmes produce workers with skills that match the jobs being created in the economy.
“We are hoping out of this engagement as well, we can collaborate with the Ministry of Education to streamline how our people are educated so that the kind of programmes that they pursue will offer them the kind of jobs that we have,” he said.
For businesses, the discussion signals a growing push to align Guyana’s labour supply with its economic expansion. While the country’s growth has created new opportunities for investors, contractors and local enterprises, it has also placed pressure on the labour market, especially in sectors that require technical skills, construction workers, tradespeople and trained professionals.
The GCCI said the engagement forms part of its ongoing dialogue with policymakers on issues affecting the business community.
The Chamber and the Labour Ministry are expected to continue discussions as Guyana works to build a workforce capable of supporting long-term private sector growth and national development.
