The HEART/NSTA Trust intensified its mandate to improve training opportunities for young Jamaicans with a now two-year running collaboration with Reggae Sumfest. 

This year the partnership provided the festival with just under 100 trainees for selection and placement in various hospitality areas, creating meaningful opportunities for youth empowerment.  

Trainees and graduates were selected to work in different capacities, including mixology, bartending, barbacks and as cashiers. This provided an excellent opportunity for trainees to exercise their skills and gain valuable hands-on experience in an especially high-intensity space.

Director of Community Engagement at the HEART/NSTA Trust Ronique Rhoden, explained the value of the association with Reggae Sumfest and the agency’s broader mission to increase opportunities in training and employment, especially for unattached youth in western Jamaica.

“We’re pleased to partner with Reggae Sumfest as it is a great opportunity to get into the communities. It’s beneficial as part of our thrust and enhanced efforts to share the benefits of enrolling and the fact that training is free up to the Associate Degree level,” Rhoden explained. “Through this partnership, we successfully connected with various organisations, raised awareness about the value of skills training, and showcased our programmes using immersive virtual reality experiences in culinary arts and auto-mechanics to festival attendees.”

“This partnership with Reggae Sumfest is also strengthening, as this year we were contacted to find skilled workers and moving forward we’re looking to enhance our partnership by introducing more skilled graduates in other areas such as production. The collaboration with Reggae Sumfest is more than a one-off engagement—it’s part of our strategic plan aimed at deeper community impact,” Rhoden said.

Great Life Change

The trainees were able to work on the festival over the one-week period of July 13-19, which saw events at Montego Bay Sports Complex and Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre. 19-year-old Zyanna Scott of Salt Spring in St James expressed praise for the experience.

“Overall, it was a good experience being at Reggae Sumfest, it made me more knowledgeable as it relates to the different beverage mixes, interaction with guests and team members,” Scott said. “I signed up with HEART because I wanted to learn a skill and I’m truly appreciative as this has made a great change in my life. I’ve spent a good amount of time learning about different things, preparing for work and using the opportunities that signing up has given me.”

Downsound Entertainment Director Barrington Daley underscored the value of the partnership with the HEART/NSTA Trust from an operational perspective.

“This collaborative effort afforded us the opportunity to have HEART/NSTA Trust as our primary recruitment vehicle for especially mixologists and cashiers. Several of the respondents selected were placed in these areas and gained valuable experience. Another major plus is that part of the Reggae Sumfest target market is the 19-25 age group, and the agency is also looking to connect with that age range of Jamaicans. We were able to maintain effective service delivery as well as the partnership afforded us cost savings. These are critical factors for an event of Sumfest’s magnitude and there’s scope for growth in this initiative as well,” Daley stated.

The high-intensity nature of Reggae Sumfest provided the perfect backdrop for experiential learning. Trainees and graduates not only honed technical skills but also learned the importance of teamwork, customer service, and professionalism under pressure. 

As the lights dim on another successful staging of Reggae Sumfest, the real encore may well be the stories of empowerment and growth among the HEART/NSTA trainees from western Jamaica.