JUSTICE TRAINING INSTITUTE’S DIRECTOR/PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
GIVEN BY MRS. AUDREY SEWLL
AT THE 2005 GRADUATION CEREMONY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2005 AT THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
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SALUTATIONS…
This afternoon it is my distinct pleasure to present the report of the Justice Training Institute on behalf of its entire staff for the period April 2004 to date.
We live in a changing world, where change it is said is the only constant. It is therefore not surprising if I were to say to you that the year under review, 2004/2005, has been one of many challenges, brought about by several changes, the most significant being the changing of the baton from one leader to the next and the removal of the Court Reporting School from its original abode to the Institute at 4 Camp Road. Extensive refurbishing was undertaken to accommodate the School and on September 27, 2004, for the first time 27 students commenced training in Court Reporting at the Institute and training has been progressing reasonably well since then.
The guidance of the Board Chairman, the Hon. Mr. Justice Lensley Wolfe and the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Carol Palmer helped me tremendously throughout the period of transition. There are some other key persons who also played a very significant role in helping us to steer the boat and keep it afloat. When I assumed office I felt like a baby learning to walk on my own. The most senior person on staff was on maternity leave so you can appreciate the situation. Mrs Estella Baker and hers staff, Mr. Noel Buckley, Mr Michael Cohen, and Mrs. Paula Gracie and her Directors and many others, I thank you for having held my hands. I haven’t reached the Promised Land yet but we are continuing on the journey.
We pause to pay tribute to the former Director/Principal, Mr. Noel Irving the first head of the institute. He served as head of the institute from the inception until he demitted office in July 2004. We thank him for the foundation that was laid upon which we have this privilege to continue to build.
Notwithstanding the many challenges that were faced during the year, with the resolve and determination that we strive to become our second nature, the team members saw these challenges as mere obstacles to be surmounted, and so here I stand this afternoon proudly to report on our major achievements, confident in the knowledge that mistakes made along the way will provide valuable lessons to guide the future. Albert Einstein once said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new�. We have tried a lot of new stuff.
Ladies and Gentlemen: we are trying to create a performance driven institution, an institution of excellence and so we practice what we preach. Not only is the training performance based, but also are our goals and objectives, better known as Key Results Areas. I will now share some highlights of a few selected Key Results Areas with you.
For the period, over 667 were enrolled in various training programmes such as Certificate in Legal Administration, Financial Crimes Investigations, Computer Applications, Customer Service, Accounting Policies and Procedures within the Resident Magistrates’ Courts and Sign Language Competencies. This represents a decrease of approximately 15% due mainly because training for Justices of the Peace was suspended to allow the administration time to make well-needed review of the arrangements for that programme.
Under the direction and guidance of the Chief Justice, the review was done and all arrangements have been finalized for training to re-commence this month. We are very heartened by the enthusiastic responses from the Resident Magistrates who have volunteered to conduct the programmes within their respective parishes.
New Computer courses were added and some of them were over-subscribed. This saw the small but well equipped computer laboratory being used to its full capacity between September 2004 and February 2005.
We are very pleased with the fact that some of our valued stakeholders worked tirelessly with us to design, develop and deliver training programmes, particularly the new ones.
During the period under review, approximately $800,000 was earned as revenue. We are confident that this will be improved by the close of the financial year.
The success of any training institution depends to a great extent on the level of recognition, which is demonstrated by the achievement of accreditation status. There is no doubt that the programmes that the institute has been offering over the years are of the highest quality and merit formal recognition. To this end, contact was made with the University Council of Jamaica and the National Council on Technical Vocational Education and Training. In fact, Assessors from the NCTVET assessed for certification, one pilot group of students in Computer Applications. Work has begun to transform the processes at the institute and we are very confident that we will achieve that well deserved status of accreditation very soon.
In October of 2004, Mrs Yvonne Falconer, a Curriculum Specialist was contracted to design and develop curricula for the programmes being offered at the institute. This was funded by the United States Agency for International Development. I pleased to report that that exercise was completed with the specified timeframe and we are now well on our way to formalize our operations in that regard. We thank persons such as the Chief Justice, Mr. Glen Cruickshank and some members of the Judiciary as well as the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture and the HEART Trust/NTA for the time that they invested to review the materials and provide valuable insights into the contents.
Partnership is another of our Key Result Area especially in light of the limited physical facilities that we currently have. We have set ourselves some targets that we hope to achieve as we seek to expand our operations. We have been working to strengthen existing partnership arrangements or to forge new linkages with other training institutions, locally and internationally. We have started to put measures in place to have the Court Reporting Programme accredited by the National Court Reporting Association of America so that the institute may serve as an examination centre for Court Reporting.
The Permanent Secretary approached HEART Trust/NTA on our behalf to request technical assistance and funding for the CRP, and I am proud to report that that organization’s Board recently approved our requests. We expect to get our first draw down of funds soon.
The staff subscribes fully to the notion that working, as a team with clear guiding principles around which everyone rallies is very important to the achievement of projected targets. To this end, new vision and mission statements were developed with the full participation of all team members. If you should visit us, you see them displayed on our walls, testimony of the collective thoughts of everyone.
Although we celebrate our successes during the past year, there were some constraints that we experienced. Firstly, space is very limited and we were not able to respond to some of the demands for the use of the facilities. Secondly, we were not able to fill some important positions that are critical to us achieving our goals because of the terms of the MOU. Additionally, there are some systems and processes that are not consistent with the operations of a training institution. This is why sometimes we might seem ‘pesty’ and some of our colleagues do not understand.
The Way Forward
Under the direction of the Advisory Board, we have developed a new 3-year development plan. Some of the major targets that we have set ourselves are-
• The institution is to achieve accreditation status
• Upgrading of the physical facilities to add new classrooms, administrative offices, audio- visual laboratory and library.
• Establishing off-site training sites that will expand course offerings
• Improve revenue target to achieve at least break-even position
• Strengthening of our systems and procedures to improve our customer service to the highest level.
• Improve our systems to achieve improved efficiency and effectiveness
• Extend the programmes to other Caribbean territories.
We believe ladies and gentlemen that any developed and progressive nation, like ours must have a well trained cadre of staff to serve within the Justice System. We recognize as an institute the very important role that we have to play in this regard. We have no intention to shirk our responsibility or to fail. We are committed to the task and we are seeking your continued support and input to make it happen.
In closing, I would like to acknowledge the contribution of our Advisory Board for the hours that you have sacrificed in attending meetings and giving invaluable guidance towards the successful operation of the institution.
To the lecturers, administrative and support staff we say thanks.
As we move towards the beginning of a new financial year to face the many and varied challenges, we again commit to continue to train and certify persons for improved job performance. Graduates, you have been beneficiaries of the hard work of a committed group of persons. Now it is your turn. Remember, seize all the opportunities and forget the excuses. Excuses are the nails that are used to build a house of failures. Ambition without knowledge is like a boat on dry land. The roots of education might be bitter, but the fruits are sweet. We encourage you to make the best use of what there is to learn. JTI will be having many more courses and we hope to see you again.
