H.E.A.R.T Training Centre

What does your job mean to you? Think hard for a minute. A steady income? A way to provide for your family? Maybe it brings you the freedom to express yourself or an opportunity to do what you love. Whatever your answer, its likely that your job plays a crucial role in your life on an emotional, financial, psychological and maybe even spiritual level.

Now imagine yourself as a young person in Jamaica - say 20 years old. Chances are good (75% in fact) that you "graduated" high school without passing any of your external exams. College is out. So too is finding a "good job" in town because you need at least three exam passes to get those. You'd settle for a job in your local community, but the unemployment rate is already at least 30%. What do you do? You are young and energetic but you've been idle for over two years since leaving school and have no foreseeable options for the financial and emotional outlet a job provides. Seriously, what would YOU do?

Unfortunately, that scenario is not fiction. Each year the Jamaican education system unleashes into local communities over 30,000 kids who have little to no chance of gainful employment. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist (or a social scientist for that matter) to understand what happens. I don't care where you are - fIrst world, third world or the Moon. If 75% of your young people have nothing to do, chaos is going to ensue.

There are many ways to interpret that situation and an equal number of possible solutions. One reading highlights the need to fix the education system. Another might emphasize the country's anemic economic outlook. Both are valid. But when we look at all the underskilled youth in our community we say: "We've got to find a way to give these young people the skills they need to reap the rewards of meaningful work."

In 2008 the Oracabessa Foundation began to tackle the issue of underskilled residents by partnering with the community of Jacks River to establish the Jacks River H.E.A.R.T. Community-Based Training Centre. H.E.A.R.T is Jamaica's National Training Agency with the remit of providing and certifying vocational education. You can go to H.E.A.R.T and be certified in one of over 85 different specialties. Courses range from Welding and Auto Repair to Food and Beverage and Landscaping.

H.E.A.R.T's community-based stream is based on a partnership with local communities. Local groups provide the building and necessary infrastructure (tables, chairs, etc) and H.E.A.R.T provides the salary for instructors. Each community-based centre is managed by a Community Management Committee which is responsible for all aspects of the centre's operations. Graduating students receive a full H.E.A.R.T Certification which is recognized globally.

Due to being in the middle of Jamaica's North Coast and many hotels constantly looking for people we decided on Housekeeping as our primary curriculum. Our first batch of students began in January 2008 and since then we've graduated 81 persons. 35% of these graduates are now working in the hotel industry. At first glance that doesn't seem like stellar performance, but considering that these students have graduated in one of the worst economic climates since the Great Depression, it is actually pretty good!

Meaningful work is important no matter where you live. What would you do without it?