HEART/NSTA Trust Enhances National TVET System

The HEART/NSTA Trust has made a significant advancement in the national technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system, with the integration of cyber-physical components into various programmes.

Sharing details on this, the Trust’s Director for Training Infrastructure Development, Dwayne Bent, acknowledged that “over the years we may not have been focusing on the continuous trends and the standards that affect the fourth and fifth revolution technologies”.

As a result of this, he told JIS News, for the past year “we have intensified our effort, working with lead groups, and what we have been doing is integrating the cyber-physical component into [our] programmes”.

Mr. Bent, who was participating in a JIS Think Tank recently at the agency’s Head Office in Kingston, said that the initiative has, so far, led to 27 occupational areas being upgraded and launched to the national TVET system.

These enhancements are poised to transform a multitude of programmes, with a focus on the top 20 being identified as key drivers for technological advancement and productivity growth within the industry.

Among the top programmes identified are Coding, Mobile and Aerial Robotics, Automotive Technology, Building Decorating and Finishing and Agricultural Technology.

“These areas, in addition to the others, together encapsulate what is required to drive industries across the world with the use of the cyber-physical system,” Mr. Bent said.

By incorporating cyber-physical components into vocational education and training, the HEART/NSTA Trust is paving the way for a more resilient and competitive workforce, poised to meet the evolving demands of the industry.

“The HEART/NSTA Trust is making a promise to Jamaica, and we are implementing, incrementally, these technologies that are permeating the industry right across the world,” Mr. Bent noted.

He further pointed out that “while we are strengthening the physical expansion to accommodate these programmes, we are also strengthening the implementation of software simulators and smart technology devices”.

As the HEART/NSTA Trust continues to foster collaboration will all industry partners to ensure that the technologies are in alignment with the World Skills International and Industrial Standards, work is also being done with local industries.

While we continue to ensure that the “technologies are apace and in alignment with international standards, we are also working with our local industries to help advise, guide and learn from them as we seek to ensure that we can all, together, future proof the Jamaican industry and maintain sustainability and transformation as the technology evolves across industries,” Mr. Bent said.