HEART

engaged 528 apprentices in its revitalised Registered Apprenticeship Programme (RAP), which it says is geared towards meeting the needs of a modern economy, particularly within service, oriented industries.

According to HEART’s annual national report for the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year, the trust laid the foundation to provide training opportunities for 8,500 young people through the National Underserved Youth Programme by initiating a pilot programme with 300 participants. The report said at the end of the review period in March 2015, the agency achieved 77 per cent of its annual certification target of 28,648.

A total of 16,775 certificates were issued for the successful completion of National Vocational Qualification of Jamaica (NVQ-J) and tertiarylevel programmes and a further 5,202 trainees were certified under the category ‘Other’, totalling 21,997 certified. HEART entities accounted for 19,612 or 89 per cent of total certification, while non-HEART entities, such as secondary schools and private providers, accounted for 2,365 or 11 per cent, the report said.