APPROXIMATELY 7,202 employers made three per cent contributions of $1,706 billion to the HEART Trust Fund for the period 1999/2000. This represented an increase of $98 million or 5.7 per cent over the previous year.
The HEART Trust/National Training Agency develops and implements programmes and initiatives with the objective of providing Jamaica with a competent, certified workforce.
Audits have identified some 640 companies in arrears to the tune of $109.69 million. In the meantime officers of the Compliance and Remittance Department collected some $76.76 million in audited arrears from delinquent contributors during the period under review.
HEART's establishing legislation requires employers, as defined, to contribute three per cent of their gross payroll to the Trust less permitted payments to the Trust's registered trainees, in order to finance its operations.
Together with interest of $224 million, academy earnings of $78 million, grants of $19 million and profit on sale of fixed assets of $7 million and miscellaneous income of $7 million, the employer's contribution brought total income to about $2.041 billion. This was an increase of three per cent over the previous year's total income, according to the Profit and Loss Account for the year ended March 31, 2000.
Expenses increased by five per cent in the review period to approximately $2.063 billion, resulting in a deficit for the year of $21 million. Although other operating costs dropped from $101 million to $84 million there were notable increases in certain expenses. For example facilities costs rose by 2.5 per cent to $346 million; training costs rose by 7.8 per cent to $1.4 billion and personnel/administration costs went up by two per cent to $207 million. Refurbishing of technical high schools recorded a 26 per cent increase over 1999 to reach $57 million.
Net current assets of the Trust amount to $388 million.
During the year under review, the Agency improved and expanded its training opportunities, placing special emphasis on training in the areas of hospitality and Information Technology.
In addition the HEART Trust/National Training Agency has made efforts to build on the collaboration between Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI) and the University of Technology with a view to launching during the course of this year a joint Bachelor of Education in TVET degree programme in its quest o produce 21st Century TVET instructors.
The HEART Trust has also injected a capital investment of over $100 million to expand the Runaway Bay HEART Hotel from 20 rooms to 56 rooms has propelled the property into a mid-size facility which will hopefully attract more foreign investors.
The expansion includes a 200 capacity conference room and a state of the art waste disposal system and full standby power generator. It is intended that the expanded Runaway Bay HEART hotel will provide better opportunities for hospitality trainees.
