Building capabilities in natural resource-dependent economies: An innovation systems analysis of the TVET program in Guyana

This paper examines Guyana's technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system in relation to diversifying the country's economy away from natural resource exports. The innovation systems approach is used to examine the effectiveness of TVET as a means of building capabilities in Guyana's key industries, gold and sugar, providing a snapshot of the state of the system in early, 2016. Ten interviewees across several areas of expertise were consulted in Georgetown, Guyana. The analysis of primary and secondary research finds TVET's effectiveness to be limited by a lack of labor market information and funding, energy costs, a “brain drain”, and insufficient information communication technology skills and infrastructure. Recommended remedies include increasing the frequency of labor market surveys, attracting the Guyanese diaspora back to share knowledge, reducing the cost of energy by taking advantage of domestic renewable energy potential, and setting up a Sovereign Wealth Fund.