Robert Gregory, CD Former Executive Director, 1992-2007 Given that human resource and manpower development issues, whether at the firm, country or regional level have been my career passion and preoccupation, it was a privileged opportunity to be appointed in 1989 to the Board of the HEART Trust, then Jamaica’s largest single provider of technical vocational training to young people. By May 1990, the GOJ became a signatory to the CARICOM Regional Strategy on TVET to help lift the competitive quality of the regional workforce in preparation for the imminent liberalization and globalization of the region’s economies. A major feature of this strategy was the establishment of national training agencies (NTAs) in each country, and the GOJ decided that the HEART Trust would assume that mandate. My two-year secondment from the ICD Group of Companies was to lead to the restructuring of HEART Trust to become HEART Trust/NTA to thereby fulfil the mandate to coordinate, standardize and regulate a system for the training, assessment and certification of all working age Jamaicans to international standards. My two-year secondment became a fifteen-year collaboration of love and creativity with HEART’s over 1,200 team members. We proudly created the regional flagship of National Training Authorities in the region, a fit for purpose institution, the crowning period of my career. HEART REFLECTIONS Donald Foster Former Executive Director, 2007-2009 I In my opinion, there are few things in life more developmental, selfactualizing and empowering than a good, well rounded education of our people, coupled with opportunities to develop their God given skills, gifts, talents and abilities to equip them for living and working as productive citizens. Furthermore, good education and skills development encompass rounded development, inclusive of mental, emotional, physical, social and moral domains of our people. With this recognition and the awareness that critical to Jamaica's economic development, was the availability of a trained or trainable workforce, aided my decision to transition from JAMPRO, where I was serving as a Senior Executive to HEART Trust/NTA in 1994. I was delighted to serve with a HEART Trust/NTA that invested in the development and implementation of programmes and the provision of Competency-based standards, utilized in the training, assessing and certifying of persons in the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to produce human capital to satisfy the needs of employers in a globally competitive environment. Working with the HEART Trust/NTA provided a satisfying opportunity to contribute to the transformation and development of a world class, world recognized and respected National Training Authority that hosted many overseas delegation that wanted to benchmark our training system. Through the establishment of the National Council on Technical Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET), we were excited about the development and implementation of a National TVET Quality Assurance System that facilitated the standardization, integration and significant expansion in enrollment, training, assessment and the awarding of the NVQJ/CVQ certificationofworkingage Jamaicans. Despite the very critical role of the HEART Trust/NTA to national development, when I joined in 1994 it never dawned on me that working with that organisation, would be one of my most satisfying job experiences in service to my fellow Jamaicans and my country. Working with the HEART Trust/NTA for some fifteen (15) years, afforded me the unique distinction and immense satisfaction of serving in the very impactful positions of, National Programmes Director, Chief Technical Director, Executive Director, Board Member and pioneer Board Member of the National Council on Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (NCTVET). The opportunity to participate in the development of a world class National Training Agency that empowered thousands of Jamaicans through the award of skills certification remain a significantly important and satisfying contribution to the building of Jamaica, "Land we Love". Carolyn Hayle, Ph.D Former Executive Director, 2009-2013 I served at HEART Trust/NTA twice. First, as the National Programmes Director (NPD), under the leadership of Mr. Robert Gregory and then as its Executive Director. To understand my response to the question asked, it is essential for me to highlight that as a consequence of my first stint at the HEART Trust/NTA I was able to easily translate the mandate given to me during the second stint, into tangible long term development outcomes for Jamaica. That mandate was: • Develop a programme for at-risk youth (this mandate was removed) • Implement the Senior School programme • Within three years, create 2-3 Workforce Colleges • Rebrand HEART Trust/NTA as a viable option alongside tertiary programme • Reposition HEART Trust/NTA as indeed the National Training Agency In 1991, HEART Trust was renamed the HEART Trust National Training Agency. The intention was for HEART Trust to become the training agency of choice for enterprises in Jamaica. In the years between 1991 and 2009, a number of necessary initiatives were undertaken to create the framework in which the National Training Agency could function. Chief among these was the development of the certification system, the National Vocational Qualification of Jamaica (NVQ-J). To understand this framework, it is necessary to appreciate that it begins with units (single) which then fold into clusters (stacks of units) and eventually full programmes. Certification is possible at each level. This concept was not, and still is not easily understood by most people but it is a part of the internationally accepted certification framework for higher education. There is a stigma attached to technical vocational education and training (TVET) but in reality, there is no technical distinction between TVET and traditional approaches to education. In fact, they are intertwined in every job regardless of level or occupation. We, at HEART Trust/NTA, set out to disprove the misconceptions and eliminate the stigma. We did so by creating workforce colleges. My exposure to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) concept of Decent Work allowed me to bring the mandate given, the foundation on CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 24
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