Choose the HEART Trust/NTA

A graduate of the HEART Trust/NTA is encouraging young people to consider the diverse vocational training opportunities offered by the institution as an option for development and a step towards upward mobility.

Bishop Garfield Wilson is advising both attached and unattached youths across Jamaica that the HEART Trust can assist them to achieve their career goals.

“I want you to know that HEART Trust delivers, at world-class standards, skills that can be used right across the world, and so, I encourage you to give the institution a thought, because if you are going to change the world, you need a skill to do so,” he says.

He was addressing students from the parish of Clarendon, who turned out for the HEART Trust/NTA’s career fair held recently, at the St. James Methodist Church in May Pen.

Bishop Wilson, who is the Associate Pastor at the Mandeville New Testament Church of God in Manchester, credits his success in part to the rounded training he received at the HEART Trust/NTA.

He informs that he enrolled at HEART after completing his secondary education at Munro College and the St. Elizabeth Technical High School, but could go no further as his parents could not afford the costs associated with a tertiary education.

“I felt really bad, and so, I started trying to find a job to see if I could work the money to go to college, but then I was introduced to the HEART Trust,” he relates.

The St. Elizabeth native tells JIS News that although the journey was not easy, he was not deterred and remained determined, as he pursued a course in carpentry at the Black River Vocational Training Centre (VTC).

“When I started attending HEART, I watched some of my friends, as I walked out in the mornings in my blue pants and white shirt on my way to Black River, some would laugh at me and say ‘look at the good high school student going to HEART Trust’,” he recalls.

“But, I’m here to tell you that nothing is wrong with HEART Trust. In fact, I hold my head high and stand in high esteem to know that I am associated with the institution,” he says.

Soon after leaving the training institute, Bishop Wilson became a Christian and made the decision to attend the Bethel Bible College in Mandeville, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology with a Minor in Counselling.

He is currently the Director of Admissions and Student Services at the college he attended, and has been a lecturer there for the past eight years. He later earned a Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning from St. Mary’s University in Minnesota.

Bishop Wilson says his training at the HEART Trust provided him with a strong foundation, noting that the institute and its many programmes present an opportunity for young people to not only develop their skills, but to also become agents of change.

“There are many persons, who wonder what is going to happen to them after high school. There are many of us who are from communities where no one seems to be excelling. There are many of us from families where no one seems to be doing well,” he notes.

“I was the first person in my family to go on to have a Masters. You can do it too, the change begins with you,” Bishop Wilson says.

He further notes that, “I believe very strongly in my heart that with all that HEART Trust is giving this nation that you can use their resources and skills training to…change your life and this country.”

The HEART Trust/NTA, which was formed in 1982 remains a key driver on Jamaica’s road to development.

It continues to focus primarily on stimulating economic growth and job creation, through the development of a highly skilled, productive and competitive workforce.

The institution operates 29 technical and vocational education and training locations, which focus on providing a variety of training options to all Jamaicans seeking to advance their career options.

With programmes geared at transforming the lives of school leavers as well as employed persons, who require training and certification, HEART Trust/NTA remains active in engaging members of the society.