Guyana: Newrest facilitates the upskilling of local staff

Compliance with Guyanese employee regulations

The Guyanese government has implemented legal content regulations requiring companies to employ a certain percentage of local staff to obtain a local content certificate. Newrest has been certified since 2022.

At Newrest, 100% of the employees are hired full-time, offering stable jobs without resorting to temporary employment.

Newrest’s offshore nationalization ratio stands at 88%, with 25 Guyanese employees working offshore. The group also prides itself on gender parity, with 12 women offshore (43%) and 2 women holding management positions onshore.

Newrest is fully compliant with local regulations, including 100% NIS (National Insurance Scheme) and GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority) registration. Twice a year, Newrest does independent surveys to know the market rates and offer adjustment to reflect the rapidly changing economic model.

Partnerships with local schools and universities

As part of the group’s CSR approach, Newrest establishes several partnerships with schools and universities in Guyana to contribute to the education of future generations and recruit the talents of tomorrow.

Newrest Guyana has developed a partnership with the Carnegie School of Home Economics, and some of the group’s employees have held conferences. For example, Camp Boss Andre Jorge presented life on board, and Supervisor Djamal Bouzar introduced “Catering services specification offshore” and gave monthly cooking lessons.

The Carnegie School offers programs focused on food preparation, nutrition, and housekeeping. Within the school’s main building, the Hibiscus Training Restaurant serves meals crafted with flavorful ingredients of the Caribbean. Newrest is recruiting from the school: 9 employees are Carnegie graduates and 4 new collaborators were recommended by the school. To further develop its collaboration with the Carnegie School, the group plans on hiring two interns at the warehouse.

Moreover, to allow Newrest employees to validate their experience with a degree or to achieve higher levels of academic, the group wants to create a specific course with the Carnegie School.

In the future, Newrest wants to establish new partnerships, including one with the University of Guyana to offer two internships and to recruit young graduates.

Local employees training by Newrest’s taskforces

Newrest is committed to enhancing the skills of its local employees through comprehensive training programs led by Newrest’s certified expatriates.

Newrest plans to build a training center that will integrate a replica of an offshore kitchen, providing a realistic training environment. This initiative will also include a housekeeping training, ensuring that employees are well-prepared to deliver top-notch soft services.

As part of its partnership with Plympton Farms, Newrest expatriates share their expertise in international Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) regulations.

Mobility for Guyanese collaborators

Newrest exposes its employees to new missions, notably through towing, by bringing on board a partially Guyanese crew.

Additionally, local employees are given the chance to shine on the international stage through events like Chef Unlimited, where the Head chef Pritipaul Bacchus showed his talents, and the various mobility opportunities provided by the group. For example, Guyanese collaborators went to the United Kingdom to receive an extensive training.

The group opened its shareholding to Guyanese people and, in 2023, a consortium of local catering and food service operators called Guyanese Achieving Together Enterprises (GATE) has purchased a substantial equity stake in Newrest Guyana.

Today, Newrest is a recognized expert in Oil & Gas in Guyana, and the group is ready to establish itself in the country in other sectors where it excels.

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