MONTEGO BAY, St James — Howard Ward Benefit Foundation has partnered with HEART/NSTA Trust to develop a programme that will teach students in the western end of the island how to operate heavy-duty equipment.

“We are excited to announce a significant allocation of $1 million to a collaborative programme between Ward’s Power Tools and the HEART/NSTA Trust,” the foundation’s Executive Director Suzette Brown said during a scholarship presentation ceremony held at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort on Tuesday.

“This initiative will provide hands-on training in using heavy-duty equipment, including cranes,” she added.

Brown anticipates that the programme will be up and running soon.

“We want to have it ready in another three months for advertisement and everything,” she said.

The Montego Bay-based Ward’s Power Tools will provide equipment and expertise while the foundation and HEART will execute the programme.

“We reached out to HEART’s leadership in the western region and so we are now going to be finalising that programme being introduced to western Jamaica,” Brown told the Jamaica Observer.

She explained that the initiative came from the realisation that there is a need for certain skills, coupled with recognition that the foundation is able to provide support to HEART/NSTA Trust, Jamaica’s foremost skills training institution. According to Brown, it builds on an existing informal training relationship provided at HEART/NSTA Trust’s location in Falmouth, Trelawny.

“We believe this partnership will equip students with valuable practical skills that are crucial for success in today’s dynamic job market, whether here or elsewhere,” she said.

Brown said it is Ward’s Power Tools Executive Director Howard Ward’s goal to see the programme expand beyond western Jamaica. She said he already has an idea of other companies with which they could partner.

She anticipates that students trained under the programme will be able to find opportunities in and outside of the country.

“I know it’s going to be an impactful programme with far-reaching effects, positive effects, especially because the Canadian market is interested in these that we are training. And yes, even in Jamaica, construction is booming not only in terms of housing but definitely commercial, so we are providing the people who can operate these equipment,” she said.

Funding for the programme was raised from the foundation’s MoBay Night Run, an event whose future iterations are expected to help sustain the programme going forward.

“The $1 million allocated to that programme will be used to facilitate students if they need lunch, if we need to bring in additional tutors, or any other things, then we can facilitate that,” Brown said.

During Tuesday’s ceremony, 35 students from the tertiary and secondary levels were awarded scholarships valued up to $300,000.

Brown said the initiative is just a hint of what the foundation hopes to accomplish.

“Our commitment to education and skill development extends beyond the individual scholarship,” she said.