THE HEART Trust/NTA and JAMALCO officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate the training of 3,000 highly skilled technical personnel of the upcoming multi-billion dollar expansion programme at JAMALCO.

Under the partnership agreement, the Trust is responsible for assessing, training and certifying workers currently employed to sub-contractors of JAMALCO as well as other potential workers islandwide. Presently, more than 1,700 people are in training at 13 participating institutions in the National Training System, which comprise nine HEART institutions and four private providers.

Robert Gregory, executive director of the Heart Trust/NTA in his address noted that the expansion would be the single largest investment in the history of the bauxite-alumina sector. This, he stated, would demand an increase in the level of technical expertise required by the plant.

“We are aiming to meet this increase in demand. Currently, we have trained 66 electricians and 191 welders, 36 of whom have so far completed level 3 and we are projecting to enrol another 1,000 persons in the programme,” said Gregory.

The HEART executive director further noted that the working partnership with JAMALCO is a central part of the Trust’s commitment to meet its goal of training and certifying half of the Jamaican workforce by 2008.

Meanwhile, Alberto Fabrini, managing director of JAMALCO, said the signing of the MOU underlined his company’s commitment to the development of the bauxite-alumina sector in particular and to the country in general.

“This is not just an achievement for now, but for the future of Jamaica and the work of the HEART Trust/NTA”, said Fabrini. He noted that the people who complete the training programme would join a pool of workers who could be employed in the bauxite industry anywhere in the world.