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The HEART Trust/NTA has designed a new business model, which among other things, provides for the training of 394,200 Jamaicans to international standards over the next three years. The number represents approximately half of the country's workforce. The new business model, which was introduced to representatives from over 30 companies and organizations at an employers' forum held on March 8...

A total of 380 Jamaicans will vie for supremacy in over 50 skill areas at Skills Jamaica 2005, which will be held at the National Arena from March 30 to 31. This is the second staging of the competition, which is being hosted by the HEART Trust/NTA, through its tertiary arm, Vocational Training and Development Institute (VTDI). Staged every 18...

Technology Solutions Limited (TSL), a provider of a wide range of technical and consulting services for the export, food service, manufacturing and hospitality industries, has acquired the Caribbean franchise to represent and offer the services of international food consulting firm Guelph Food Technology Centre (GFTC). Based in Ontario Canada, GFTC provides creative technical solutions, training, consulting and auditing within the...

Some $5.5 million is being spent to repair and expand the auditorium at the Dinthill Technical High School in Linstead, St. Catherine where Hurricane Ivan destroyed the building's roof last September. Principal, Dennis Clarke told JIS News that the project was being financed with funds provided by the school which had been collected over the years through fund raising efforts....

The draft of the long-awaited National Transport Policy was tabled on Tuesday (March 8) in the House of Representatives. The policy seeks to guide the development of all modes of transport in the island and to ensure that any policy initiatives undertaken in the sector will contribute to Jamaica's economic and social progress. Making a statement on the Green Paper,...

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has instructed the Inter-agency Committee working on plans for the development of the corridor along Highway 2000 to undertake further consultations with local authorities and stakeholders in the parishes of St. Catherine and Clarendon before the final report and recommendations on the development plan are presented to Cabinet. The decision was made during a meeting of...

The House of Representatives has adopted the report of the Joint Select Committee on amendments to the Finger Prints Act and has passed the legislation, which seeks to amend and standardize the existing law in keeping with practices in most commonwealth jurisdictions and the United States. National Security Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips, who piloted the legislation at yesterday's (March 8)...

The House of Representatives yesterday (March 8), suspended debate on the Bill to Amend the Corruption (Prevention) Act and the Corruption (Prevention) (Amendment) Regulations following a stalemate between government and Opposition members over whether the Corruption Prevention Commission had requested the additional powers that would be granted to it through the amendments, as well as the necessity of the legislation....

The St. Ann Bauxite Company, which purchased Kaiser Aluminum Corporation's 49 per cent stake in Kaiser Jamaica Bauxite Company (KJBC) last year, has pledged to invest some US$7.7 million into its operations. The Government of Jamaica is the majority shareholder with 51 per cent of equity in the company. General Manager of St. Ann Bauxite Limited, Michael Muirhead informed JIS...

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson is to meet with a government team to examine the issue of the proposed toll road in Portmore, and to see how the situation can be resolved. In recent months, several persons in the Portmore community have voiced concerns about the proposed toll road (part of Highway 2000), and the alternative route of the Mandela Highway....

The Portmore Master Map, the most advanced of its kind in Jamaica, has been unveiled in hard copy and digital format. Director of Surveys and Mapping at the National Land Agency (NLA), Trevor Shaw, unveiled the map at the recently held Friday Policy Forum hosted by the Management Institute for National Development (MIND), at its Old Hope Road campus. The...

Jamaica will participate in the Third Commonwealth Local Government Conference Board Meeting and General Meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland, from March 14 to 19. The conference, which will be hosted by the Aberdeen City Council in partnership with the Covention of Scotland Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Executive, is being organized by the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF). Making the...