Prime Minister Andrew Holness today (January 14) officially launched Jamaica’s first ever Coding Academy through a Amber HEART/NSTA  Trust partnership.

The Coding Academy will significantly improve the employability of citizens, particularly the nation’s youth. Students will undergo an intensive year-long residency training at the Stony Hill HEART/NSTA campus with an internship component, where they will work with seasoned developers on software development solutions. Upon successful completion of the programme, the graduates will be guaranteed jobs within the Amber Group.

The Prime Minister said “the Amber HEART/NSTA Trust Coding Academy is a groundbreaking first step towards achieving our vision of positioning Jamaica as a technology and innovation hub.”

The Prime Minister noted that the partnership on coding comes at a critical time as the world battles COVID-19 which has forced everyone to utilize technology. In that regard, the Prime Minister asserts that with this Academy, the country is on its mark to participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“Jamaica is putting in place the pieces to create the digital society. So today, I am very happy that we are at this point and we will have 100 Coders trained,” said Prime Minister Holness.

The Amber group is involved in the development of the curriculum and delivery of training. The company will ensure that the graduates of the programme obtain the skills that employers require.

“We are an English speaking country, we have the talent and now through the Amber/HEART Academy we will build the competencies,” CEO of the Amber Group, Dushyant Savadia.

“We wanted to create a Jamaica with the socio-emotional intelligence to be able to solve real world problems without anger, without violence, without fear, without ignorance but through the embrace of knowledge and reason and when we talk about coding that is exactly what it is. Real world problems translated into a logical schematic meaning; ordered in a rational and reasoned way converted into a language that machines can understand and execute.” Said Prime Minister Holness.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness thanked the Amber Group for its tremendous support to Jamaica. The Group developed the Jamcovid platform that has been a cornerstone of Jamaica’s Controlled Entry Programme to screen and manage incoming travelers to Jamaica.

In the meantime, the Prime Minister expressed thanks to all stakeholders while noting that it will take a concerted effort to make the Amber HEART/NSTA Coding Academy a true success.

“This is truly a public private partnership. Partnership between the Government of Jamaica through the HEART Trust NSTA and private sector group Amber, and that will be the modality going forward. We encourage other private sector groups to come on board, let us know what your training needs are” said Prime Minister Holness.