which HEART Trust and the HEART Trust/NTA were built, together in an exciting new approach. The first assignment, given to me in 2009, was to launch the Career Advancement Programme (CAP). This programme encapsulated at Grade 13 (initially introduced at Grade 11) all the tenets necessary to create a confident academic and technically capable school leaver. On exit from the post-secondary system, these graduates would have been able to enter either the world of work or tertiary education. The CAP programme having been tested in the system for eleven years is now an integral part of the Alternative Sixth Form Pathways programme offered to all students in the postsecondary system. This programme has been integrated into the higher education system and provides a seamless route from post-secondary to higher education. Includedinthat initialCAPprogramme were unit competencies which themselves have evolved into “micro credentials.” They too are a part of the National Qualification Framework of Jamaica (NQF-J). These initiatives expanded the work of HEART Trust/ NTA as the National Training Agency by connecting “micro-credentials” (unit competencies) with the higher educationsystem. Themandategiven to me in 2009 was met and has since been embedded into the national fabric of education, training and higher education. These initiatives mirror the accepted global norms for higher education and collectively form part of the flexible learning pathways to higher education. They contribute to both Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan (Outcomes 2 and 6). CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 Cedric McCulloch Former Interim Executive Director, 2013 H on. Errol Anderson, Minister of Youth, Sport and Community Development and I, as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry were in attendance when Prime Minister, Edward Seaga announced the establishment of the HEART Trust in 1982. In 1982, almost all Vocational Training programmes, including the Instructor Training programme, Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI), administered by the Government, were under the portfolio of the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Community Development. It was therefore imperative that there be a close working relationship between the new training Organisation, HEART Trust and the Ministry. And so it was. There was coordination at all levels. And, by invitation, Dr. Joyce Robinson, Managing Director, HEART Trust, participated in meetings of Directors in the Ministry. The driving force behind my involvement in the activities of HEART Trust was to update and upgrade the knowledge and skills of the employed labour force and to prepare young people to enter the workforce. In the early 1960s it was recognised that there was an inadequate supply of trained and certified persons to satisfy the needs of Industry; and a 1992 STATIN Labour Force survey revealed that 76.0 percent of the employed labour force had received no training for the tasks which they were performing. I had the privilege of being employed by the International Labour Organisation, a specialised agency of the United Nations, from 1986 to 1998. I served in Lagos, Nigeria 1986 to 1987 and in the Caribbean Office located inPort of Spain, Trinidad from September 1987 to July 1998. From 1993 to 1998, I was responsible for Vocational Training in the English speaking Caribbean countries, Suriname, Curacao and Aruba. I used this assignment to support the training activities of the HEART Trust. The ILO Caribbean Office in association with the ILO, Inter-American Research and Documentation Centre on Vocational Training (CINTERFOR) located in Montevideo, Urugauy, organised and funded the annual meeting of Heads of Vocational Training Institutions in the English speaking Caribbean countries, Suriname, Curacao and Aruba. Fellowships were provided to Caribbean nationals to attend the ILO, International Training Centre in Turin, Italy. I truly value my association with the HEART Trust , at all levels including, that of Acting Executive Director. It was a great opportunity to serve my country. I am the first to admit that there is much more work to be done to upskill the quality of the Jamaican workforce, and so I offer my very best wishes to HEART Trust for another successful and productive 40 years. Janet Dyer, Ph.D Former Managing Director, 2018-2021 When you get to a point where life loses its appeal but something comes along to place a light at the end of the tunnel, this gives you the resources to walk/run towards that light. That has been and still is my experience with the HEART/NSTA Trust for the past 35 years. As a young girl from the bowels of St Elizabeth, I fell in love with HEART, which gave me the opportunity to conquer poverty and hopelessness, and to make a life for myself and family. I am grateful to contribute to the economic life of the country through the training and certification of young Jamaicans for the Tourism/ Hospitality industry. My assignment as Managing Director for this important organisation, allowed me to complete the circle from trainee to Managing Director, proof that anything is possible when you commit your heart to achieving it. I got the opportunity to lead the largest public sector merger in the history of Jamaica’s Public Service without a day of upheaval, utilizing the concept of Macro Criticality of Governance (Impacting lives by measuring what I value, instead of valuing only what I could measure). During my tenure as Managing Director, my foremost passion was to give back to young Jamaicans, what I got from HEART, i.e., the opportunity to gain competence and certification in skills that could be used to better their lives, the lives of their families and communities and contribute to the economic growth and development of the country. After my stint as Managing Director, I have returned to my first love, that of preparing young Jamaicans for the Hospitality/Tourism industry through HEART College of Hospitality Services (HCHS), creating value added services for the organisation and industry, never wavering on my commitment to community service and building a sustainable economy. My love affair with the HEART/NSTA continues… HEART REFLECTIONS 26
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUzNTI=