launches Public Service Upskilling Platform
His Excellency, President Dr Irfaan Ali, said that the new Public Service Upskilling Platform will enhance the skills of public servants and strengthen the nation’s competitive future.
Addressing the launch of the programme today at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, the Head of State said that his Government aims to develop a public service that is agile, resultsdriven, accountable, transparent, and efficient, backed by skilled human capital and technology.
“We are building the human capital that will ignite the future of Guyana, that will leapfrog the future of Guyana in public service. We are building the best public service and public servants for the future.”
Referencing the foundational work of former Minister of Public Service, the Honourable Sonia Parag, and Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, the Honourable Dr Ashni Singh, who had also held the public service portfolio, President Ali said that the programme will become a “foundational pillar” of the new public service his Government is fashioning.
He explained that one of the main objectives of the programme is to equip public sector workers in Guyana with the necessary skills and knowhow to become leaders and innovators in their respective fields.
“Today I want the Guyanese human capital to lead processes, to lead systems, and that is why we are building here — we are building the human capacity and capability at a national scale.”
The President announced that over the next three to four weeks, a series of applications developed by Guyanese will be launched.
“We are trusting our young people, our brain power, our technical capability. We are trusting them to build it themselves, to drive this future, building it out ourselves, to meet our demands, our requirements, our priorities, and to lead a regional revolution in what we do.”
He underscored that the public service system is a problemsolving and implementation machine that gives meaning to public policy and creates an environment to drive results, productivity, and progress.
“It will not hide behind bureaucracy; it will embrace innovation. It will not delay; it will deliver.”
The President noted that this is why he has appointed the Honourable Zulfikar Ally as Minister of Public Service, Efficiency and Implementation.
“The title is deliberate because words matter. It underscores three priorities: service — to the people, with empathy and professionalism; efficiency — in how we use time, talent, and technology; and implementation — because plans mean nothing without execution on time and on budget.”
He emphasised that the Ministry is charged with transforming the machinery of government into a performancedriven engine, one that measures success not by activity but by results.
“I want to say this morning that this is bigger than a training programme, or a course, or a diploma, or a certificate. This is about our future. This is about the direction that we must go in, and this is about building our One Guyana — stronger, closer, more unified, and better than ever before.”
The programme is being executed in collaboration with Coursera and will allow every public servant in Guyana to access over 100 curated courses, intentionally selected to help them become model public servants.
These include Customer Service, Project Management, Technical Writing, Managerial Training, Data Analysis, Website Development, Excel (from Beginner to Advanced), and Spanish (Beginner level).
Minister Singh; Minister Ally; other Cabinet Ministers; Government officials; and members of the diplomatic community were also at the event.