PM Launches HEART/NSTA Trust Mobile Training Unit

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on Wednesday (December 16), launched the HEART/NSTA Trust’s new Mobile Training Unit at Garmex Academy in Kingston.

The unit, which has been retrofitted to provide classroom space for approximately 20 students, will serve trainees, particularly in rural areas, who are facing difficulty in completing face-to-face assessments or skills training, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

It is Internet-enabled for students to connect, and has bathroom facilities and other conveniences.

Prime Minister Holness said that the acquisition of the mobile unit will enable the national training agency to reach and intervene in the lives of “incompleters” and unattached and underserved persons in remote, rural areas, who do not have the services of the HEART/NSTA Trust where they live.

“The incompleters are those who may have started a programme or those who were never in a programme but engaged some form of certification that they did not complete. They may have some elements of a course, but they don’t have all of it to get the certification, and with this mobile facility, we will be able to reach them where they are and in a comfortable facility,” he noted.

Mr. Holness hailed the initiative, noting that it shows the commitment on the part of the Government “to reach every single Jamaican”.

“That your geographic location or your demographic situation should not be a barrier for you to access training,” he pointed out.

He said that the HEART/NSTA Trust continues to play a key role in transforming the lives of Jamaicans.

“I’m very happy that you are launching this service. It speaks to HEART’s commitment to inclusivity, to equity and to ensuring that all Jamaicans are part of the total training solution that we hope [for],” he added.