By Lavern Clarke, Staff Reporter
JAMAICAN employers contributed $2.05 billion to HEART Trust/NTA in its financial year ending March 2002, to provide the bulk of the $2.35 billion earnings recorded by the state training agency to March 2002.
The three per cent of payroll mandated by statute was just over $200 million or nine per cent higher than the contributions made by businesses in the previous financial year, to boost the Trust's surplus by $78 million to its current $179 million.
Over the year, it also saw significant movement in its fixed assets to $1.21 billion resulting from the $290 million spent on upgrading and constructing its centres. Its net asset position also improved to $2.03 billion.
The contributions over the previous financial year, was made by 7,935 employers of that total, 1,061 were making contributions for the first time. The Trust's Compliance Department has identified arrears of $235.8 million spread across 692 companies.
The majority of the Trust's earnings for 2001 $1.4 billion or 59 per cent of total earnings and 68 per cent of contributions was funnelled back into training of the 33,049 Jamaicans who now access its services annually.
The numbers trained, however, are unsatisfactory to the agency.
"This is clearly not enough in the face of the demands of a national workforce that numbers in excess of one million," said the combined statement of the chairman, Alister Cooke, and executive director, Robert Gregory, in the agencies annual report.
The most recent Labour Force statistics put the total at 1.1 million to April 2001 putting the ratio of trainees to the labour force at three per cent.
Cooke and Gregory have announced plans to revamp the programme to provide the courses in modules and incorporate distance education in order to widen the programme to more Jamaicans. The current training figure broken down includes: 16,000 students in its 26 academies, institutes and vocational training centres islandwide; 7,500 in 85 community-based training programmes; 5,000 employees in on-the-job training across 1,100 firms; and up to 3,000 in various projects with the Social Development Commission, another state agency.
HEART's programme ranges across 14 disciplines, with hospitality skills, information and communication technology, and building and construction skills accounting respectively for the three largest groupings.
To help carry out its mandate, the HEART accounts point to a $224.5 million price tag on personnel and administration. But in note five to the financials, the agency also lists wages and salaries amounting to $878.2 million under the heading of staff costs.
Its total staff costs amount to $1.05 billion covering 1,396 employees, 353 of whom are part-time a figure with no direct link in the accounts.
Financial director, Dianne Hollingsworth, told the Financial Gleaner that the $1.05 billion is spread across four categories of expenses: training, personnel, operating costs and refurbishing of technical high schools.
The staff costs also cover senior managers pay packets, as well as the allowance paid to enrollees in its 26 schools, a cost captured directly under training.
The executive director took home $5.9 million for that year as outlined in a table of senior managers' compensation packages amounting to $28.5 million. A 25 per cent end-of-year bonus in lieu of pension increased the package to $34.2 million, up from $26.9 million in the previous year.
The agency, now 18 years in operation continues to build on its programmes and has some worldwide recognition, as evidenced by some of the 'key partnerships' it has developed.
Its partnership with Cisco Systems, a leader in computer networks, has resulted in the Cisco Networking Academy, which was incorporated at HEART's Stony Hill Academy in February 2002. Trainees of that course will be certified a Cisco Certified Network Associate.
Other partnerships have seen the emergence of a regional sponsored project to train females in areas traditionally dominated by males, like automotives and construction; and a project with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association to establish human resource development mechanisms in tourism both financed by the Inter-American Development Bank.
The agency also collaborates with other institutions in the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand to devise culinary arts and other training programmes. And, its association with the German Agency for Technical Co-operation continues.
HEART's internal rankings of its performance under the Logical Framework Methodology gives the agency high to perfect scores for a total efficiency ranking of 92 per cent. It also reports that a March 2002 Stone poll on its programmes also gave it a 97 per cent approval rating among employers.
