We should planning to take advantage of our CARICOM neighbor Guyana's rich oil finds:

• We already have a the local BNOC staff who have experience in oil filed services.
• We should also be looking to send them to Guyana and training other candidates to work in that industry to apply for positions requiring that expertise when they become available in Guyana.
• We should be building up our local oil extraction expertise, with courses at UWI, BCC and SJPP so we can lend labor to Guyana that will be of greater value having more experience than local Guyanese labor but less costly than US/UK labor.
• We should be building up local training and expertise in oil spill risk management, protection, prevention, cleanup and recovery in preparing for the inevitable.
• We should be targeting the oil companies staff with vacation or transit packages to Barbados since Guyana's tourism product does not offer the same attractions thus we can be a layover or rest stop for the foreign oil workers.
• We should be providing alternative methods of transport to/from Guyana with a focus on leisure travel with cruise packages as part of the vacation experience.
• We can invest in a new hotel or other living facilies in Guyana to house these oil workers and their families.
• We should be thinking of any other ways that we can take advantage of this rich oil industry although not of our own just yet but right in our back yard, and any possibilities that may come along with it.

Submitted by Corey Agard