PAAC members question HEART training data amid employer discontent

Managing Director of the HEART/NSTA Trust Dr Taneisha Ingleton says the skills training institution has certified more than 55,000 people in the last financial year.

The disclosure was made by Ingleton when she appeared before Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) on Wednesday.

However, chairman of the committee Peter Bunting indicated that there was a disconnect between the numbers that the training agency had provided when matched against the chorus of complaints by industry players that the country did not have sufficient qualified workforce to meet the current demands by employers.

According to Bunting, statistics in the last two years have shown that two-thirds of the Jamaican workforce was not certified.

“If you’re really saying that 55,000 were certified in the last financial year but yet the employers when we speak with the JHTA, when we speak with the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, they say that qualified workforce is a major constraint,” Bunting noted.

The PAAC chairman stressed that he was trying to reconcile the gap between the numbers provided by the training agency and “what we’re hearing from employers”.

Committee member Mikael Phillips questioned what percentage of those who accessed training at HEART continued beyond Level Two.

He noted that Level Two was barely above the basic level and would not satisfy the demands and requirements of employers.

The committee was told that Level 4 certification was equivalent to an associate degree while Level 5 certification was equal to a first degree.

Bunting asked HEART Trust officials to provide a breakdown of the various levels assigned to the 55,000 persons who were certified in the last financial year.

He said that might explain the gap between the reported shortage of skilled labour on the one hand and the numbers being trained by HEART.

Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information reported that the Jamaica Values and Attitudes (JAMVAT) Programme assisted 2,711 students over a five-year period, making it the second-largest programme in terms of beneficiaries.

Participation increased from 526 students in 2021-2022 to a peak of 875 students in 2022-2023 before declining steadily to 319 students in 2025-2026.

Asked why the number of beneficiaries for the JAMVAT programme had declined sharply in the last financial year, Dr Kasan Troupe, permanent secretary in the education ministry, said that many young people were averse to being bonded or to carrying out community service.

“It is something that we need to address. The young people committed to giving back is a challenge in our country,” she said.

JAMVAT is a work-study initiative that enables tertiary students to finance their education through part-time employment within government ministries, departments, agencies, and public bodies. Participants receive financial support to offset tuition costs while gaining valuable work experience, developing employability skills, and contributing to national development through public service.

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