Their experiences were different but they had the same goal of achieving their tax audit and revenue administration (TARA) postgraduate diploma.

The 23 candidates, which make up Cohort 31, completed the programme in 2021, and on Wednesday they participated in a graduation and awards ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston.

The 15-month programme, which was a collaborated effort of the Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) and Management Institute for National Development (MIND) was designed to provide graduates with fundamental skills to handle taxpayer requirements in all aspects of taxation.

Three graduates who were interviewed by the Jamaica Observer expressed gratitude as they recalled their journey throughout the programme, which was nothing short of challenging.

For Marlein Newman, the programme was nothing with which she was familiar as she had worked as a teacher for over 20 years before joining the TAJ.

“It was a long journey. Unlike the others, I’m from outside of the organisation. I was a teacher before for 20-odd years, so it was a new experience for me, but the facilitators we had from TAJ and MIND imparted knowledge on us which was very good and informative,” she told the Observer.

“They also gave us practical assignments as well, so I was able to quickly integrate into the organisation. The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable so if at any time I had a question there was always someone who had a response to give me,” she added.

Despite assistance from the facilitators, Newman noted that it was a tough transition, but she used the same motivation she gave her former students to stay focused.

Newman, who was the valedictorian, was also awarded for being a top performer during the programme.

“It’s always hard to enter something that is new. No one likes change. It was a bit difficult, but it takes courage. For a number of years I’d tell my students that you have to rise above and face your challenges, so I had to live up to what I was actually saying to them,” she said.

“I always wanted to be an auditor, accounting is something that I loved and I taught it at my school before. So I saw that they had the scholarship programme available, applied, got through and took the bold step,” Newman explained.

Meanwhile, her colleague Garane Bennett, who received a special award, said the diploma will help him to move up in the TAJ organisation.

He explained that shortly after the TARA programme started in 2019, there was much uncertainty due to the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, but he was determined to achieve success.

“We did an entry exam, interview, then waited a year and then we started the actual classes, then COVID-19 came so we were very uncertain about how classes would continue. I’m from Mandeville and I had to move here and then moved back because nothing was going on and we had to learn how to use the online platform and that was a first for me,” he said.

“Biggest lesson for me was to adapt to change coming at me and try to do my best. There was even a time when I stopped and said I couldn’t bother because it was so stressful, but it was worth it,” said Bennett.

Another graduate, Sabrina Montaque, who also received a special award, was just as thrilled and, like her colleagues, described the experience as rewarding.

“We are still celebrating the moment. I’ve learnt that it’s not about the ability to do the things because a lot of times a lot of persons have the ability to do the work, but they don’t have the commitment, drive, and the zeal to do what they need to do,” she told the Observer.