KINGSTON, Jamaica — Chairman of the Board of the HEART Trust/NTA, Edward Gabbidon, has announced the appointment of Dr Janet Dyer as managing director of the agency effective February 1.

The new managing director’s long association with the HEART Trust/NTA spans some 32 years, commencing as a trainee at the Runaway Bay HEART Academy in the early days of HEART in 1986.

“Dr Dyer’s personal and professional career with HEART is a remarkable Jamaican success story, which comes at a time of renewal and repurposing of the national brand for Training and Workforce Certification, Youth Engagement and Empowerment, Adult Literacy, and Career Development and Service,” noted Gabbidon in a release.

Dr Dyer, who has been the acting managing director since November 1, 2017, was selected after an extensive recruitment and selection exercise, which was led and managed by the Board of Directors through its Human Resources Committee.

Her appointment coincides with the current merger process now underway among the HEART Trust/NTA, the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL), the National Youth Service (NYS) and the Apprenticeship Board.

Dyer has held several senior management positions within HEART/NTA and the wider education and training sector. She is a former Director/Principal of HEART’s Northeast Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institute; and served as Director of Technical Services in the Career Advancement Programme (CAP), whilst on secondment to the Ministry of Education, Youth & Information.

She is highly respected for her transformational leadership and technical work at the HEART College of Hospitality Services, (formerly the Runaway Bay HEART Training Institute) and the Cardiff Hotel & Spa (formerly Runaway Bay HEART Hotel), which have prepared thousands of trained and certified workers for the hospitality industry.

An alumnus of the St Elizabeth Technical High School, Dr Dyer holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Hotel and Tourism Management from the Washington International University, a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Professional Management from Nova South Eastern University; as well as a Certificate of Operations Management from the University of the West Indies (Bahamas).

Dyer is an internationally-certified Hospitality Educator and Trainer and a leader in the development of strategic TVET policies.

She is currently awaiting certification for a Doctorate in Leadership Policy and Change in Education from Walden University, USA.