The short version
The Board of Industrial Training (BIT) is Guyana's government skills-training agency, under the Ministry of Labour. It runs free, hands-on, 4–6-month trade courses — welding, electrical, plumbing, catering, cosmetology, IT and many more — at centres in every region. Training materials are provided and a monthly stipend is paid on funded intakes. You finish with a Certificate of Competency. To start, register at a BIT/regional training centre or contact the head office at 82 Brickdam, Georgetown — (592) 225-1077.
In This Guide
What is the Board of Industrial Training?
The Board of Industrial Training (BIT) is Guyana's national vocational and apprenticeship training body, operating under the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning from its head office at Lot 82 Brickdam, Georgetown. First established in 1910, it marked its 115th anniversary in 2025 — making it one of the oldest training institutions in the country.
BIT's mission, in its own words, is "competency-based vocational training for employment." In plain terms: it teaches Guyanese a practical, job-ready trade — for free — and certifies them so they can get hired or start their own business. With Guyana's oil, construction and services boom driving huge demand for skilled workers, BIT's June 2026 campaign puts it bluntly: "Bare minimum can't pay the bills. A skill can."
BIT deliberately serves second-chance learners, women, school-leavers and persons with disabilities — you do not need to have finished secondary school to start a short skills course.
What you can study
BIT advertises 200+ skill areas across five broad families — Engineering, Building Construction, Health Services, Home Economics and Forestry. Exactly which courses run depends on the centre and the intake. These are the specific trades confirmed from BIT's own 2025–2026 intakes and graduations:
| Skill family | Confirmed trades |
|---|---|
| Engineering & mechanical | Welding & Fabrication · Electrical Installation · Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration · Heavy-Duty Equipment Operation · Tractor Driving · Small-Engine Repair · Level-One Aircraft Maintenance (Foundation Skills) |
| Building & construction | Plumbing · Joinery · Furniture Making |
| Home economics & services | Commercial Food Preparation (catering / culinary) · Pastry & Baking · Cosmetology |
| Technology & agro | Information Technology · Agro-Processing |
The list above is what BIT publicly confirmed for recent intakes; the full national catalogue is larger (200+ areas) and changes by centre. Ask your nearest centre what's running this intake. A typical course is 4–6 months of hands-on, competency-based training.
It's free — and you can earn while you learn
BIT training is offered free of cost. The Government of Guyana has stated that training at its technical and vocational institutions is free, as part of the national push to build a skilled workforce.
On funded intakes, BIT goes further. The official intake notices state that all materials, equipment and supplies needed for training are provided, and a monthly stipend is paid to trainees while they study. (BIT does not publish a fixed stipend figure, and the stipend may be specific to particular funded intakes — confirm with the centre when you register.)
- Tuition: free
- Materials, tools & supplies: provided on funded intakes
- Monthly stipend: paid on funded intakes (amount set per programme)
- Certificate of Competency: issued on successful completion
Who can apply
BIT's short skills courses are open to most Guyanese — including those who didn't finish secondary school:
- Age: generally 15 years and older; some intakes set a 16+ minimum (the recent Unity Training Centre intake required applicants to be 16+).
- No formal academic prerequisites are stated for the short skills courses — the focus is hands-on ability.
- Open to all: BIT explicitly trains women, school-leavers, "second-chance" learners and persons with disabilities (it has run programmes including sign language and assistive software via partner organisations).
How to apply — step by step
There is no single national application portal — intakes are rolling and run region by region, each centre advertising its own courses and deadlines (often on BIT's Facebook page). The process is straightforward:
Where to train (centres by region)
BIT delivers training in all ten administrative regions, through its own centres, regional technical institutes and community-based programmes. Confirmed locations include:
| Region | Centre / location |
|---|---|
| Region 4 (Demerara-Mahaica) | BIT Head Office, 82 Brickdam, Georgetown · Guyana Industrial Training Centre, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown · Eccles Skills / Culinary Training Centre · Beterverwagting Practical Instruction Centre · Buxton centre · Unity Training Centre (Unity, Mahaica, ECD) |
| Region 2 (Pomeroon-Supenaam) | Essequibo Technical Institute |
| Regions 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 & more | BIT runs intakes and graduations nationwide — recent cohorts include Mabaruma (Region 1), Long Creek, and Region Six's new training centre. New regional centres are being built to Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) standards. |
Not every trade runs at every centre. Contact the head office at 82 Brickdam — (592) 225-1077 — to find the nearest centre offering the course you want.
What you'll earn
On successful completion, BIT issues a Certificate of Competency in your trade — its core statutory function. Newer BIT training and certification centres are being built in line with Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) standards, Guyana's recognised vocational benchmark. (Whether a specific course awards a full CVQ level or BIT's own Certificate of Competency varies — confirm with the centre.)
The pay-off is employment. BIT's training is explicitly job-focused, and graduates move into the construction, oil-and-gas, hospitality, beauty and services sectors — or start their own businesses with the skills they've built.
BIT by the numbers
- 82,000+ Guyanese trained across government training and job-readiness programmes since 2020, with 60,000+ jobs created (Ministry of Finance).
- 12,742 trained in the prior four years — 60% of them women.
- ~3,587 beneficiaries engaged by BIT in 2025 (1,645 female, 1,942 male).
- 2026: BIT had reached 70%+ of its annual training target by June, with 1,600+ enrolled from January to April alone — plus dedicated cohorts for persons with disabilities and a new Level-One Aircraft Maintenance programme.
Contact BIT
- Head office: Lot 82 Brickdam, Georgetown
- Phone: (592) 225-1077
- Email: BITraining1910@gmail.com
- Facebook: Board of Industrial Training Guyana — the best place to catch new intakes
- Parent ministry: Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning
Frequently Asked Questions
Is BIT training really free?
Yes. Training at the Board of Industrial Training is offered free of cost. On funded intakes, BIT also provides all materials, tools and supplies, and pays trainees a monthly stipend while they study.
Do they pay you to train?
On funded intakes, yes — official BIT intake notices state a monthly stipend is provided. The amount isn't publicly published and can vary by programme, so confirm it with the centre when you register.
What trades can I learn at BIT?
Confirmed trades include welding & fabrication, electrical installation, plumbing, air-conditioning & refrigeration, heavy-duty equipment operation, commercial food preparation (catering), cosmetology, information technology, furniture making, joinery, agro-processing, pastry/baking, tractor driving, small-engine repair, and a Level-One aircraft maintenance programme. BIT advertises 200+ skill areas overall; offerings vary by centre and intake.
What are the entry requirements?
You generally need to be 15 or older (some intakes require 16+). There are no formal academic prerequisites for the short skills courses — BIT specifically welcomes second-chance learners, women, school-leavers and persons with disabilities.
How long is a BIT course?
Most BIT skills programmes run about 4 to 6 months of hands-on, competency-based training, ending in a Certificate of Competency.
How do I apply to BIT?
There's no single national portal — intakes run region by region. Find a centre offering your trade, watch for its intake announcement (BIT's Facebook page is the most reliable source), then register in person with valid ID at the centre or the head office at 82 Brickdam, Georgetown.
Where are BIT training centres?
BIT trains in all ten regions. Known locations include the head office (82 Brickdam) and the Guyana Industrial Training Centre, Eccles Skills/Culinary Centre, Beterverwagting, Buxton and Unity centres in Region 4, the Essequibo Technical Institute in Region 2, plus community programmes nationwide.
What qualification do I get?
A BIT Certificate of Competency in your trade. New BIT centres are built to Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) standards; whether a course awards a full CVQ level or BIT's own certificate varies by programme.
Is "BIT" the same as the Indian university BITS Pilani?
No. This is Guyana's Board of Industrial Training, a Ministry of Labour skills-training agency in Georgetown — unrelated to the Indian university that often appears in searches for "BIT".
Can BIT training help me get an oil-and-gas job?
BIT trains in trades directly relevant to the construction and energy boom — welding, electrical, heavy-duty equipment operation, refrigeration and more — and its programmes are designed to be job-ready. A Certificate of Competency is recognised proof of skill for employers.