Roy Reid credits his success to the rounded training he received at HEART/Trust NTA.

'HEART did it for me'

WHEN ROY Reid, client relations officer at the Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB), tells people that he started out as a HEART trainee, they are usually surprised.

This is because Reid has broken the stereotype often associated with HEART trainees. Many expect them to be working in the hospitality industry, or maybe in a beauty salon, but certainly not in banking.

Reid, who works at the Mandeville branch of the JMMB, said he owed a large part of who he is today to the opportunities and the training he received through the HEART Trust and the National Youth Service (NYS).

Participating in a recent Gleaner Editor's Forum held in Manchester, Reid admitted that landing a job right out of high school was a major challenge.

"I wanted to pursue further studies. Unfortunately, the finances weren't there for me to do that," he revealed. "The next best thing for me to do was to go and get a job, but that was very, very difficult."

Reid said after not being able to find employment, he enrolled in the NYS, where he entered the on-the-job-training programme, which equipped him with the necessary skills to matriculate into the workforce.

"I completed my internship and was able to send myself back to school for another year," he said.

Reid then entered the HEART Trust/NTA's school-leaver's programme, through which he was placed at Singer Jamaica Limited for another course in on-the-job training.

"Apart from the training I got while at Singer, representatives from HEART Trust did a lot of follow-ups to see how I as progressing in the work environment," Reid shared. "The individual who was assigned to work with me was very helpful in providing me with certain tips as to how to manoeuvre throughout the system. That actually contributed to my success at my then place of employment," he said.

Reid said he was able to go back to school again, after which he got a job in the field of banking with the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, where he worked for a few years, before taking up his present position at JMMB.

initial placement

The client-relations officer admitted that while HEART Trust would provide the individual with the initial placement opportunity, the responsibility was that person to make the best of his or her chances.

"What many persons need to be aware of is that there is a lot of work you have to do on your own as well," he said. "HEART Trust, or the different agencies, will provide you with the initial opportunity, but the onus is on individuals when they get that opportunity to grasp it with everything that they have, and don't take it for granted," he said.

He added: "They also need to look to improve themselves academically to ensure that their skills are relevant to what is taking place in the work environment."

Reid said he also made a very special effort to participate in training opportunities that were provided by the organisations with which he was employed.

"Any training sessions, any seminars, any opportunity to represent the organisation, I jump at those, because organisations love team players," he said.

athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com