Bunting wants changes to HEART-Trust to reflect needs of evolving workforce

KINGSTON, Jamaica —  Opposition Spokesman on Productivity, Efficiency and Competitiveness, Peter Bunting, has called for the HEART/NSTA-Trust to be transformed to meet the needs of a constantly evolving workforce.

Bunting made the call on June 3 during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.

He described HEART as 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 reminded that the Opposition has stated repeatedly that the time has come to transform HEART into a workforce development funding institution. “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.

According to the opposition spokesman, “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”.