HEART Trust Cosmetology School a First Class Institution – Minister Holness

Minister of Education, Andrew Holness has commended the HEART Trust/NTA School of Cosmetology for its vision in providing vocational based training courses and its achievement in establishing itself as a first class institution in the country.
“There are some things you cannot define, for example, you cannot really define what a first class institution is, you can say it is an institution that produces high performance but I tell you something, you know a first class institution when you enter it, and this is a first class institution,” he said.
Mr. Holness, who was speaking at the official re-opening of the HEART School of Cosmetology, at the institution’s premises at 10 Hope Road in Kingston on Friday (July 25), expressed his satisfaction and said that the school would be used in collaboration with other vocational based training institutions in the island to alleviate some of the problems which the education system faces.
“One of the problems that we face is that our public education system for most people ends at age 16 that is high school fifth form. In that cohort where you are now able to transition into the labour force, there are about 58,000 but if you were to examine that cohort as to who could go on to higher education only about 20,000 could move on. Thirty-eight thousand have two subjects or less, which means that the majority probably have zero qualification, so every year we turn out into the society approximately 38,000 young people in the 16 year old cohort who could not matriculate into anything by virtue of qualification or certification,” he pointed out adding that as a result, a pool of youngsters are created annually who are unattached, untrained and unskilled.
The Minister pointed out that he had a vision, which would seek to eradicate this situation, and as such would seek to collaborate with the resources of HEART, the National Youth Service (NYS) and the public education system.
“I have a vision, that all students at age 16 leaving the public education system, will be able to continue directly into a programme of training and personal development compulsory until they are age 18 and that programme will of course involve the resources of HEART, the resources of the NYS and the resources of the public education system,” he said, adding that the details of such a programme will be discussed at a later date.