THE University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) and HEART/NSTA Trust are collaborating to provide seamless opportunities for higher education and skills training geared at enhancing human capital development in Jamaica.

UTech is expected to implement alternative articulation and matriculation pathways for HEART/NSTA Trust graduates into various courses of study at the university, while the HEART/NSTA Trust will explore opportunities for the awarding of its skill-based certification to UTech students to complement their courses of study, UTech said in a news release.

The move is among expected deliverables under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) inked by both entities at the HEART/NSTA Trust’s Oxford Road headquarters in Kingston recently.

The two entities are to work together on a range of educational and skills training initiatives to further align themselves with the Government’s thrust to produce a highly efficient and adaptable workforce that can cater to modern socio-economic needs.

Additionally, the entities are expected to cooperate to promote and facilitate continuing education programmes, to enhance distance learning through information and communications technology (ICT), and to deliver entrepreneurial training in areas of incubator development, innovation, commercialisation, and micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the release said.

HEART/NSTA Trust has also committed to allocating funding through its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) scholarship programme to UTech students from underserved communities. Through resource and knowledge sharing, both organisations are expected to embark on research and development projects and professional development training for students and staff.

“When you think about Vision 2030 and all the ambitious aspirations laid out in it…the first step is to have a highly educated workforce and a highly educated population,” UTech President Dr Kevin Brown said at the official MOU signing.

He argued that “it is a win for Jamaica”, given HEART’s current move to modernise its offerings and UTech’s gradual implementation of its RESET (Research driven…Expand access…Student centred…Entrepreneurial and Technology focused) agenda, which are both aligned with the Government’s objective to increase trained labour for industry.

UTech’s RESET mandate was implemented by Brown in 2023 and he commended HEART for “moving skills beyond what people perceive it to be and showing Jamaica that when we talk about skills training, we are talking about technology”.

Sounding her optimism about the collaboration, Dr Taneisha Ingleton, managing director, HEART/NSTA Trust, told the UTech team, “We are aligned…we are the leading providers of TVET in Jamaica and the Caribbean and you are that national university that would have been doing STEM from ever since, so, indeed, we are aligned. We are happy to be on this journey with you.”

She also stated that it is encouraging to witness “universities valuing and enabling TVET”, thus breaking down the barriers to education and certified training. She stated that the partnership speaks to the broader economic imperative of expanding and providing access.