Workforce must stay ‘ahead of the curve’
HEART, IWED partner on implementation of training and sustainable development programmes
Published:Tuesday | July 30, 2024 | 12:10 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
The HEART/NSTA Trust and the Institute for Workforce Education and Development (IWED), a division of the Manpower and Maintenance Services Limited Group (MMS), have partnered to help advance Jamaica’s workforce – in both corporate and rural areas - through the offering and implementation of training and sustainable-development programmes.
Both entities, yesterday officially signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at MMS head office on Eureka Road in Kingston.
Within the programme, the areas of collaboration include workforce development, employment initiatives, training and delivery, resource sharing, public education activities, entrepreneurship skills development, and global service sector sustainability.
Wayne Chen, chairman of IWED, stated during the signing ceremony that the young people of Jamaica needed to have “more than we have now” for their future.
Speaking of the technical and vocational education of individuals, Chen noted that “it can’t be a workforce with only 40 per cent of people certified. It can’t be a work force where you get old and obsolete”.
“We have to stay ahead of the curve,” he stated.
He shared that at the end of it all, “work is more than an economic opportunity” and “more than just the ability for economic independence”. In addition, he said, it provides a sense of self and that “what HEART is doing and what we will be doing is nation building at its fundamental”.
GROWTH AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr Taniesha Ingleton, managing director of the HEART/NSTA Trust, who shared remarks, expressed the Trust’s delight in partnering with IWED, describing the partnership as one that held “immense promise for the advancement of the country’s economic growth and development”.
She added that this programme would also provide personal development for all those who will be working with the agency.
Ingleton further stated that the collaboration of both entities signalled their commitment to fostering innovation, excellence, and sustainable growth across areas of the labour force in need of progress.
“When we achieve, we all benefit as a country and a people. We don’t need any sort of competition at this level. We need collaboration. We just need to be each other’s reinforcement because none of us can exist on our own,” she said.
For Don Gittens, chief executive officer of MMS, who dubbed the occasion a “game changer” for IWED, shared his optimism that “great things” were ahead.
“IWED is the workforce college, and what that means is that us being together with HEART is a seamless interaction,” he said.
Gittens went on to note that IWED’s work with HEART has been longstanding and that the signing of the MOU, which would be mutually beneficial to both entities, was all part of “a natural progression” of things.
“We are on a trajectory. We would’ve just won, earlier last year, The Gleaner [Honour] Award for education, and us now, being able to sign an MOU with HEART is just icing on the cake,” he added.
Gittens further noted that the areas in which IWED were seeking to improve on included literacy, training, and furthering their reach to the rural areas of the nation.
“That, for us, is something we feel paramount about. I mean, we’re good at training, taking persons ... brush their teeth, comb their hair and we put them out there and put them into the workforce,” he said.