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R E S E A R C H F O R D E V E L O P M E N T 2 0 1 1HaldenMorrisInteraction of Industrial& CommercialOrganizationswith EducationA primary objective of all educational programmesis to prepare persons to be engaged in various aspectsof the society. A significant portion of these persons arefor the workforce. A major concern of technical andvocational educators is the perceived lack of involvementof industrial organizations in the planning, developmentand implementation of the curriculum at various levelsof the educational system. The result is a failure ofthe educational institutions to meet the expectationsof industries. Since 2006 Dr Halden Morris, seniorlecturer in the Institute of Education, UWI, Mona hasbeen conducting research to determine the extent towhich industries interact with educational institutions inJamaica and the benefits of the interaction.The ProblemA perceived lack of involvement and interaction ofcommercial and Industrial organizations in curriculumdevelopment and implementation at the secondaryand post secondary levels in Jamaica.Getting to the Root of the ProblemData were collected from a wide variety ofeducational institutions on their interaction withindustry. Twenty-two institutions grouped infive categories were included: technical highschools (7), secondary schools (8), HEART/NTA training institutions (4), traditionalhigh schools (2), and one tertiary levelinstitution. The industries and commercialentities targeted were bauxite and miningfirms, consumer goods manufacturing,automobile and service industries/corporations.22 23