1982 HEART: An Adult Education Initiative in Neo-Conservative Jamaica

When the government of the very popular and charismatic Michael Manley was defeated at the polls in Jamaica in 1980, the nationalism that characterized the period of the 1970 s was !rought to an end" Michael Manley was the champion of initiatives li#e the Jamaican Movement for the $dvancement of %iteracy &J$M$%' program that sought to eradicate illiteracy and ena!le the ordinary citizen to participate more meaningfully in the nation s affairs" (n addition, there were other initiatives aimed at ma#ing people more self)reliant under the !anner of democratic socialism " *he new +rime Minister, ,dward -eaga, em!raced the doctrine of neo)conservatism that was espoused !y Margaret *hatcher and .onald .eagan at that time" -eaga was a former Minister of /ulture in the 1900 s, and very #nowledgea!le a!out the rich traditions of the Jamaican 1iaspora" 2e had his political roots in the poorest and most depressed areas of the country and was the architect of !old housing initiatives in his constituency that gave some dignity to the living conditions of its people" .ather than eliminate programs li#e J$M$%, he restructured them" (n 1981 the o!3ectives were !roadened to integrate the teaching of literacy with that of occupational s#ills" (t was also revised to e4pand the target audience to young adults &typically from a!out age 15' who did not receive an ade6uate primary education" (n addition to strengthening e4isting adult education programs, ,dward -eaga introduced the concept of 2,$.* &27M$8 ,M+%9:M,8* $81 .,-97./, *.$(8(8;' in 198< !y $ct of +arliament 1=" 2e developed this program in response to the need to provide sufficiently s#illed wor#ers to meet the country s developmental needs" 2e reasoned that in order to increase the ;1+, productivity had to !e increased" 2owever, there were not enough wor#ers with the s#ills re6uired for either the la!our mar#et or for self)employment" 9n the other hand, employers sought s#illed wor#ers with e4perience, and were normally unwilling to underwrite the cost of on) the)3o! training or apprenticeship" -eaga therefore devised 2,$.* to meet the needs of employers thus assisting the country s economic recovery program, and also to e6uip the unemployed, particularly the youths, with the s#ills that they needed on the la!our mar#et or for self)employment" *he 2,$.* *rust was esta!lished !y $ct of +arliament with the following o!3ectives> 1' to develop, encourage , monitor and provide finance for training schemes for employment of trainees? <' to provide employment opportunities for trainees? =' to direct or assist in the placement of persons see#ing employment in Jamaica? 5' to promote employment pro3ects" /ompanies had an option to engage trainees assigned to them, for up to si4 &0' months, to a minimum of =@ of the gross payroll" $t the completion of the si4) month period, the trainees could !e employed permanently and a new group engaged, or they are released and a different group engaged" Where a company opted not to have these trainees on !oard, they paid a 2,$.* ta4 e6uivalent to =@ of their gross payroll, which helped to fund the activities of the 2,$.* *rust"

*he 2,$.* program caters to young persons from age 17 and over, who are literate and functionally literate" Wor#shops are esta!lished independently !y the 2,$.* *rust or in con3unction with other groups, to deliver vocational training" *he training programs are conducted on a national !asis and there is no se4 discrimination for courses !eing offered" *he philosophy of 2,$.* was !ased on the old adage A;ive a man a fish you feed him for a day" *each him how to fish you feed him for life"A $ Mission -tatement was created that read as follows> ) *o create opportunities for training and development to ena!le people of all ages to ac6uire useful s#ills for meaningful participation in the life of the community" *he *rust now operates under the Ministry of ,ducation, :outh and /ulture and is administered !y a Board of 1irectors" *he agency is financed !y> 1' =@ contri!ution from private sector firms? <' ;overnment grants approved !y +arliament? =' Multilateral and !ilateral loans from agencies such as 7-$(1, (%9, 9$-, (1B C World Ban#? 5' 9ther types of assistance from agencies li#e /(1$, /$.(/9M, Brother s Brother Doundation &BBD', 1utch pro3ect, British 2igh /ommission, World Dood +rogram &WD+'" *hrough the 2,$.* programs many trainees have !een a!le to also complete the -chool %eaver s +rogram , allowing them to o!tain a certification similar to a 2igh -chool 1iploma" *ypically, trainees secure permanent 3o!s with the firms to which they have !een assigned for training or with other companies see#ing the new #nowledge and s#ills they have ac6uired" *he training and certification programs put on !y the 2,$.* *rust are very diverse and e6uip graduates with the s#ills to find employment in industry, !an#ing, pharmacology, commerce, tourism, airlines, food technology, civil -ervice and -tatutory !odies, among others" -chool)%eavers attached to the 2,$.* *rust training program under the *raining 9pportunities and $pprenticeship Board &-%)*9+-', are now eligi!le for certification which allows them to wor# in many /ommonwealth countries" *his is due to a new component to the program, in colla!oration with the 8ational /ouncil on *echnical and Eocational ,ducation and *raining &8/*E,*'" ;raduates with a minimum of two &<' /ari!!ean ,4amination /ouncil &/F/' or ;eneral /ertificates of ,ducation &;/,' su!3ects are placed on 3o! training for a minimum period" $t the end of the training period, the participants are presented with a record of achievement" $t present, there are three levels of certification" %evel one re6uires a minimum of si4 months on the 3o!, 18)months for level two and three years to !e certified at level three" *he 8/*E,* program, which !egan in 1995, is aimed at improving the 6uality of the la!or force through accreditation of training programs and institutions, and the certification of individual competence" *his certification is recognized in *rinidad and *o!ago, Bar!ados and other eastern /ari!!ean countries" *hrough 8/*E,*

mem!ership of the $ssociation of /ommonwealth ,4aminations and $ccreditation Bodies the certificates are also recognized in over si4ty &00' /ommonwealth countries worldwide" *he wor#place program, through which participants can also receive their accreditation, !egan in 1990" 8/*E,* wor#s alongside company managers and supervisors to assess the competence of persons while they are on the 3o!" Sources: *he Jamaican ;leaner &-unday July =0, <000' G Heril Wright, -taff .eporter" 2,$.* .esource %i!rary G -andra 2ucey, .esearcher" Prepared by Terence Frater (OISE/UT) Summer

2000

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