Bunting Urges HEART/NSTA Trust Reform For AI-Era Workforce Training

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Peter Bunting, the Opposition spokesman on Productivity, Efficiency and Competitiveness, is pressing for a major overhaul of the HEART/NSTA Trust, saying the agency must be repositioned for a labour force that is changing quickly.

Bunting raised the issue on June 3 while making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives. He said HEART remains a “training institution whose curriculum evolves on a multiyear cycle, in an environment where the relevant AI driven technology changes every few months”.

“This reality demands a fundamental rethink of workforce development policy. HEART has made important contributions to Jamaica’s development, but it was designed for a different era. The pace of technological change now requires continuous workforce adaptation,” Bunting added.

He said the Opposition has consistently argued that HEART should be recast as an institution that finances workforce development, rather than one focused mainly on providing training itself.

“Rather than attempting to deliver training directly in every field, HEART should increasingly support employer-driven training initiatives, matching private sector investments in workforce development and allowing workers access to accredited training providers.

“Such a model would ensure that training resources are aligned with actual labour market demand and not institutional assumptions about future labour demand,” he said.

Bunting said Jamaica must change how it thinks about preparing people for work, declaring: “We must move from labour supply to talent supply. The winners over the next decade will be the countries that transform their workforce the fastest”.