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A small classroom inside the Guyana Mining School and Training Centre Inc. is quietly helping reshape how Guyana thinks about one of its most valuable natural resources.
Instead of exporting gold as a raw commodity, students at the Guyana Mining School and Training Centre Inc. (GMSTCI) are learning how to transform it into high-value jewellery, developing skills that could create new businesses, generate jobs and keep more of the country's mineral wealth at home.
This week, students in the school's Intermediate Jewellery Making programme reached another milestone as they mastered bezel setting on a hollow ring, a precision technique that requires accurate measurement, careful fitting and meticulous finishing to securely hold a gemstone while achieving a professional finish.
According to the school, the exercise represents another step toward producing skilled jewellers capable of designing and crafting fine jewellery for local and export markets.
The jewellery-making programme is one of the more unique offerings at the Guyana Mining School, which was established in 2012 under the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission to build technical skills across the mining and minerals sector. Since its launch, the institution has expanded beyond traditional mining courses to include jewellery making, geographic information systems (GIS), occupational safety and health, mineral prospecting and community mines ranger training.
The jewellery initiative itself was introduced in collaboration with the E.R. Burrowes School of Art after government identified a need to strengthen the country's goldsmithing industry and create greater value from Guyana's gold production. The programme was also linked to plans to develop a Guyanese jewellery market in Barbados and expand regional opportunities for locally crafted products.
Students begin with the fundamentals—learning about gemstones, diamond grading, soldering, forging, polishing, wirework and jewellery design—before progressing to more advanced techniques such as filigree, gemstone setting, oxidation and custom ring making. The intermediate course culminates in students producing intricate, professional-quality jewellery pieces using industry-standard techniques.
The school says the current bezel-setting exercise reflects the level of craftsmanship students are expected to achieve before completing the programme.
Beyond technical training, the initiative is intended to encourage entrepreneurship.
Previous participants have included artists, aspiring jewellers, retirees and young entrepreneurs seeking to start businesses or expand family enterprises. Others have joined simply to learn how to design and create their own jewellery while developing a marketable skill.
The courses are offered free of charge, making specialised jewellery training accessible to a wider cross-section of Guyanese. Applicants must meet basic educational requirements, while practical instruction is delivered through hands-on workshops that emphasize craftsmanship and design.
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