HEART Newport Campus marks World Youth Skills Day with competitions and stakeholder forum

MANCHESTER — HEART Trust’s Newport Campus marked World Youth Skills Day on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 with a full programme of skills exhibitions, live competitions, alumni testimonials and a stakeholder consultation, drawing participants from Manchester and St. Elizabeth, including the Black River campus.

Board member Mrs. Linton George formally opened the day. Gary McKenzie served as master of ceremonies for the morning ceremony in the auditorium. Campus manager Mrs. Amoy Gain Brown oversees the Newport institution.

Keynote speaker Detective Inspector Jonovan Henderson, operations officer in the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s information management and statistics division, urged trainees to weave technology into their trade areas. He also said he remains a student at the campus and wants to push his training as far as possible.

Alumni who have launched businesses shared their journeys, among them Kemar of Solar Intelligence and Nic Carlo, a recipient of startup funding from HEART and the SDA Trust. Organisers said the testimonials showed trainees that skills training can lead to self-employment and ongoing business support.

Exhibition tents featured hospitality and bed-making, allied healthcare, early childhood development (levels 2 to 4), digital construction with virtual walkthroughs and Revit modelling, digital welding, general construction, and electrical work with a renewable-energy component. Newport and Black River electrical trainees displayed solar systems, automatic transfer switches, inverters and smart-home controls. Multimedia students screened short films from a level 2 production programme. Free massage therapy was offered in the air-conditioning lab.

Competitions included Save the Egg, in which entrants built devices to protect an egg dropped from about six feet using materials such as newspaper, tape and straws; creative metalwork; an electrical tools challenge; wire tracing for computer service and support; culinary cook-off; bed-making; and photography. Photography themes were A Sustainable Jamaica, Skills for a Shared Future, and World Youth Skills Day 2026. Entrants could register via QR code and use phones.

A stakeholder consultation, moderated by Anif Francis under the theme “combining skills for a sustainable future,” brought together voices from construction, alternative energy and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s parish management to advise on how HEART training can better meet industry needs.

Winners announced on the day included Zena Murray for bed-making, Akim Morrison for Save the Egg, Saunders for welding, and Rashard Wilson for wire tracing. Organisers said prizes and spot prizes were on offer across the contests.