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HEART Trust/NTA renews TVET partnership with Caymanian company

Published:Wednesday | August 28, 2019 | 12:42 AM
Joan Findley (left), HEART’s director/principal, TVET Engineering Cluster, celebrates with Cayman Islands Minister of Education Julianna O’Connor-Connolly (centre), Kenesha Campbell (second right), HEART’s director, national training, and Jamaica-born couple Denise DeMercado (second left) and Mark DeMercado during the launch of the Superior Auto Apprenticeship Center in Grand Cayman.
Joan Findley (left), HEART’s director/principal, TVET Engineering Cluster, celebrates with Cayman Islands Minister of Education Julianna O’Connor-Connolly (centre), Kenesha Campbell (second right), HEART’s director, national training, and Jamaica-born couple Denise DeMercado (second left) and Mark DeMercado during the launch of the Superior Auto Apprenticeship Center in Grand Cayman.

The HEART Trust/NTA has partnered with Superior Auto, a Caymanian company, to offer technical, vocational and education training (TVET) to youth in The Cayman Islands as part of the agency’s development of TVET capacity across the region.

HEART hailed last week’s launch of the Superior Auto Apprenticeship Training Center as an ­“extraordinary initiative” that marked their renewed partnership that began in 2010 with an ­accredited apprenticeship programme in ­automotive ­engineering through the Jamaican-German Automotive School (JAGAS) and HEART. The centre is the brainchild of founders and managers of Superior Auto, Mark and Denise DeMercado, a Jamaican-born couple residing in The Cayman Islands.

Speaking at the grand opening of the ­apprenticeship centre in Grand Cayman on August 21, Kenesha Campbell, director – national training for HEART Trust/NTA, said the organisation was keen on strengthening the partnership, as a robust and flexible training system was critical to addressing the shifting demands of industry and the ­emerging areas of economic and social development in Jamaica and The Cayman Islands.

While noting presence of HEART graduates in the Caymanian workforce, she said that as a national training agency, they were proud that persons could move across borders with their certification for the betterment of themselves and their country of residence. In this regard, HEART’s work with the Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies continued towards enhancing vocational and ­technical training in the Caribbean.

Campbell said these partnerships between countries work for the good of the Caribbean, as “when we are able to collaborate towards improving the attractiveness of the Caribbean for investments, whether local or international, we are able to boast a skilled and competent workforce. This partnership model with Superior Auto is a perfect example of this collaboration”.