IN a landmark memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will usher in a new era of skills training and development for the digital future, HEART/NSTA Trust and Jamaica's digital operator, Digicel, have forged a partnership that will foster mutual training, industry knowledge exchange and internship opportunities for trainees and employees of both entities.

The collaboration comes out of the need to rapidly upskill Jamaica's workforce that must keep pace with our new digital world. The three-year agreement will see HEART offering upskilling and certification in training programmes for up to 2,000 Digicel employees. In support of this, Digicel will play an integral role in designing HEART's training modules that will foster digital training for the company's employees. Afterwards, HEART will provide National Vocational Qualification Jamaica certificates for all participating Digicel staff members.

Digicel will also facilitate the provision of apprenticeship/traineeship opportunities for up to 75 HEART trainees. Another reciprocal aspect of the MOU will see Digicel's team of industry experts assisting HEART with designing courses that prepare the human capital development agency's trainees for the new digital era.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, HEART/NSTA Trust Managing Director (Acting) Novelette Denton Prince said, “Of importance to note, economic growth is linked to the availability of employment opportunities for our citizens. As a training entity, the task of preparing individuals with skills training to embrace appropriate work options can be extremely challenging, if pursued alone. This is why partnership arrangements such as this have become practical and necessary.”

Denton Prince continued, “We will ensure whoever completes the training will have the requisite skills, competencies and certification that are aligned with the expected standards of Digicel. It is hoped that apprenticeship openings provided for our participants will also result in permanent employment where vacancies exist.”

In welcoming the agreement, CEO of Digicel Jamaica, Jabbor Kayumov, commented, “The future of work is digital, and today we're very excited about the additional possibilities that this MOU will deliver for our employees to upgrade their technical know-how. Digital skills training is part of our long-term strategy to attract and retain the finest talent and contribute to building the knowledge economy. Therefore, this partnership is very important to bringing us closer to that reality.”

With Digicel being Jamaica's primary telecommunications provider and HEART/NSTA Trust the nation's human capital development agency, the collaboration signals continued strengthening of public-private partnerships that are essential to boosting Jamaica's economic viability.