Jamaica

INTRODUCTION

The story of HEART Trust, the National Training Agency is a remarkably fascinating and uplifting one of establishment, survival and evolution. It is a truly Jamaican creation that has been serving the nation for over 20 years. The organization has served a host of Jamaicans who have distinguished themselves by their vision and hard work and for many it has been the foundation for their career successes. Over the years the Agency has reshaped and reinvented itself to facilitate the preparation and certification of a modern Jamaican workforce, well equipped to meet the increasingly stringent demands of keen competition in the labour market, driven by factors such as liberalization and the rapid advancement of globalization. The organization has been instrumental in lifting the image of TVET from the status of 'poor relation' alongside formal academic education to now being recognized as playing a pivotal role in national development.

Jamaica has had to cope with the problems of unemployment and underemployment existing side by side with a shortage of skilled labour. In answer to the pressing need to prepare more Jamaican school leavers with marketable skills, the Trust came into being in 1982 with the establishment of two training programmes, the HEART Academies and the School Leavers on-the-job- Training Programme. The focus was primarily on those Jamaicans who were not equipped for work, those whose needs were not met by the formal school systems and those who had no desire to pursue the academic track in the country's education offerings.

Part of the responsibility of the organization was to bring order to the fragmented Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system. There was major concern for the welfare of the large numbers of young people left by the wayside because the traditional educational institutions could not serve them. In 1991, the Jamaican government determined that a national training support service should be established within the HEART Trust. This service would have responsibility for coordinating, funding and developing the institutions' programmes necessary to produce skilled and semi-skilled workers for the Jamaican economy.

On July 11 1991. HEART Trust, the National Training Agency was launched and by 2001 the original organization was transformed into the hub of TVET activities in Jamaica coordinating, funding and developing the institutions and programmes necessary to produce skilled workers for the Jamaican economy.

The HEART Trust/NTA is supported by a dedicated tax levied on a wide net of Jamaican employers who earn J$144,000.00 p.a. (approx. US$3,000) and upwards. These employers are required by law to pay over 3% of their payrolls to the HEART Trust/NTA, which in turn deposits these remittances into the HEART Trust Fund, which is entirely managed by the HEART Trust, and never reaches the Government's consolidated budget coffers.

Overall the HEART Trust/NTA provides policy analysis, planning technical assistance, instructor training accreditation, funding, vocational curriculum development, development of training and facilities standards and the compilation of labour market information. The Agency facilitates and supports TVET Programmes delivered through the office of the National Programme Director, HEART Programmes. These include the network of 13 Vocational Training Centres (community oriented training centres), 10 Academies (sector specific training institutions), the Jamaican German Automotive School (JAGAS), the National Tool and Engineering Institute (NTEI) and numerous community based and NGO-operated training programmes.

The HEART Trust/ NTA is also responsible for ensuring that all TVET programmes operated by other agencies, ministries and private training institutions, conform to the national accreditation standards. Subsequent to the restructuring of 1991 the following strategies were adopted and are now in effect at the HEART Trust/NTA.

• The introduction of Occupational Certification through the National Council for Technical Vocational and Education Training (NCTVET).
• Increased in-plant training of existing workers, contributing to the improvement of their productivity.
• Modularization of curricula: A concept that is directly linked to competency-based training and performance-based assessment.
• Development of a close working relationship with industry to forecast needs in key occupations.
• Gender-equal access to all programmes with particular emphasis on assisting women to benefit from non-traditional training in areas such as building construction.

As the21st century gets underway the HEART Trust/NTA stands ready, willing and able to provide the training and technology needed to ensure that Jamaica's people - her most valuable resource- are well equipped to compete and advance into the millennium. Cognisant of the changing needs of the world, the HEART Trust/NTA's training emphasises the reshaping of current attitudes and the acquisition of the skills and technology that will be demanded of this labour force.

For more information visit:

Formación y trabajo en Jamaica
http://www.cinterfor.org.uy/public/spanish/region/ampro/cinterfor/publ/atchoa/index.htm

HEART Trust/NTA
www.heart-nta.org

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