Making Work Meaningful Through Education and Training for Water Treatment Operators, Supervisors, and Engineers at Guyana Water Inc.

Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) is responsible for providing water and sanitation services to the entire country as per the Guyana Water and Sewage Act of 2002. However; it was observed that most current Guyanese engineers and plant operators do not possess adequate technical skills of water treatment and management abilities, but they are nonetheless expected to operate and oversee operations and projects that are heavily based on water treatment and supply. At present, no University or technical institute of Guyana has any curriculum to adequately teach water treatment to a level that meets the demand of the water treatment sector. It was also observed that there is a lack of stewardship, decision making, and proactivity regarding the day to day operations in the water treatment plants. An appreciative inquiry was conducted on the target group where it was discovered that 79% of the participants never received formal training since their employment, 53 % never received feedback on water quality data and only 47% of the participants view their managers as leaders. Despite these shortcomings, however, 78% find joy in their work and 22% are happy sometimes. In light of this, an integral training course was developed to transform the work experience for plant operators, supervisors, and engineers of GWI, equipping them with the requisite knowledge, leadership skills, and proactive attitudes to perform optimally in their jobs. Upon evaluation, the participants were very successful, reflecting a 79% pass rate in the post-evaluation in comparison to a mere 26% in the pre-evaluation. The overall individual scores were also significantly improved after the training. The target group expressed overall satisfaction with the intervention and there was evidence of motivation, team spirit, shared understanding of technical concepts, and thus improved overall transformation of the attitudes, and mode of work of each participant. The intervention strategy has successfully achieved the objectives set out for the company.