HEART revs up mobile unit to reach rural trainees
Published:Thursday | December 17, 2020 | 12:28 AMRomario Scott/Gleaner Writer
A new mobile training unit at the HEART/NSTA Trust has been launched to reach trainees in rural areas and help alleviate the challenges they are facing in completing assessments due to the COVID-19-induced disruptions in the delivery of programmes.
The new unit has classroom space for roughly 20 students along with Internet connectivity and restroom facilities.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday launched the unit, touting it as part of his administration’s goal to reach every Jamaican.
Referring to trainees whose programmes were affected by the pandemic as “incompleters”, Holness said the unit would help to ensure that they are given the required attention to finish their courses.
“The incompleters are those who may have started a programme or those who were never in a programme but engaged in 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,” Holness said yesterday during the launch of the unit yesterday at the Garmex Academy in Kingston.
Holness contended that geographic location should not be a barrier to accessing training.
The country’s national training agency suspended face-to-face training earlier this year in keeping with the health and safety stipulations set by the Government at the onset of the local coronavirus outbreak.
“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],” Holness said as he lauded the management of the agency.