HEART/NSTA Trust A Viable Option for School Leavers

The Human Employment and Resource Training/National Service Training Agency (HEART/NSTA) Trust is positioning itself as a viable option for skills training for students leaving high school.

Speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, Regional Director for Trust’s Region One, Charlene Mohan, said the agency has partnered with the Ministry of Education and Youth to offer itself as a “formidable option” for school leavers.

“We want to be able to attract young persons who see skills as an option. We want persons to recognise that without skills we really wouldn’t have some of the beautiful things that we have right now, in terms of beauty skills [and] the construction services [for example],” she argued.

“So, we want to promote our skills as an option for persons leaving high school, and through our partnership with the Ministry of Education, students coming out of high schools are able to go into our institutions for training. [This], we think, is a formidable option at this time,” Ms. Mohan added.

For her part, HEART/NSTA Trust Managing Director, Dr. Taneisha Ingleton, said that the entity is guided by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 and is attuned to emerging skills trends.

“[SDG 4] speaks to quality, equitable opportunities, and lifelong learning opportunities for all. We recognise how important the Fourth Industrial Revolution is in the work that we do, and the Trust is acutely positioned to respond to the demands of the global sector,” she noted.

This positioning includes programmes to address skills derived from technological advancements, such as robotics, coding, opto-electronics, mechatronics, and digital literacy skills.

Additionally, through engagements, like the Trust’s School Leavers’ Programme, youth can benefit from gainful employment while being trained in a skill of their choice to enhance their qualifications.

At-risk youth, in particular, are being targeted and the agency has employed several methods to reach them, including partnering with the Community Development Committees of the Social Development Commission (SDC).

“Our recruitment teams are in high schools. They are also in varying communities. We have partnered with the SDC and other community groups to ensure that we can reach, especially, the at-risk youth. We want to identify them the moment they become at-risk, the moment they are idle, so that we can engage them,” Ms. Mohan said.

Youth interested in skills training with the HEART/NSTA Trust can apply via the agency’s website at www.heart-nsta.org.

Persons may also visit any of Trust’s parish offices or 28 partner institutions located islandwide, to indicate their interest in a programme.

For the social media savvy, a message to the HEART/NSTA Trust’s Facebook and Instagram pages @heartnstatrust will get a response from the entity’s Communications Department.

“If you are a parent and you need your child to get a particular skill, you can contact us. If you are a young person and you want your life to go into a particular direction, we have more than enough programmes at HEART. Wherever you are at this time, whatever it is that you are doing, however it is that you may want to improve yourselves, come to HEART – we have something for you,” Dr. Ingleton urged.