On January 4, 1984, the HEART Trust/NTA opened its door for training in Commercial Skills at the then Stony Hill HEART Academy. Nestled in the cool hills of St Andrew it was the first of the HEART Academies to be launched. It provided the perfect backdrop for learning as its climate is normally cool and breezy with beautiful sceneries. The institution sits on 55 acres of lush property overlooking Kingston and St Andrew. History tell it that the property once housed barracks for British Soldiers in the 18th Century and later in the 19th Century became a Reformatory and Industrial School. After its acquisition of the property, the HEART Trust/NTA transformed the once dilapidated structures and surroundings into the Stony Hill HEART Academy, a residential facility. Thus the reformation of another kind began with new buildings erected and a complete overhaul of the premises in preparation for training in secretarial skills. Trainees were afforded the opportunity to gain “power” while learning a skill in support of the Trust’s early tagline ’Skill is Power’. In response to the need to remain relevant the Academy boardened its scope of training and collaborated with the Unites States based CISCO Systems, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Technology and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to launch the CISCO Regional Training Academy at Stony Hill in 2002. CISCO is known to be the global leader in offering training in design, construction and maintenance of computer platforms and networks. Graduates of the CISCO course attain the prestigious CISCO Certified Network Associate (CCNA) designation and possess the requisite qualification for jobs as Network Engineers and Administrators to work in the telecommunications industry. In 2014 the Academy was rebranded the Eastern TVET Institute which included the Above Rocks and Lluidas Vale Vocational Training Centres as campuses in the cluster. Over time the Institution’s transformation has produced a large cadre of trained personnel who have made notable contributions to the Jamaican society. The Eastern TVTE Institue offers a wide range of programmes including:
- Business Administration
- Web page/site designing
- Early Childhood
- Hospitality
- Micro Business
- Paralegal
- Entrepreneurship
- Accounting
- Administrative Assistant
- Computer Servicing