Technical and vocational training for Vanuatu

​The Vanuatu Rural Development Training Centre Association is on track to roll-out accredited technical vocational education training courses on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

The first training of trainers on a national scale is about to take place on 17 September.

The training is run under the 6.1 million Euro, European Union Pacific Technical Vocational Education and Training in Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Adaptation Project (EU PacTVET) and is jointly implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the University of the South Pacific.

The project covers 15 Pacific Island countries within the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) group of states.

As highlighted by the EU's European Year Development month of Humanitarian Aid in August, the EU provides humanitarian assistance to the Pacific region both in terms of disaster preparedness and emergency relief when major disasters strike.

This training is an opportunity to raise awareness on disaster risk reduction and to show how EU-funded projects are benefiting people living in some of the world's most vulnerable countries and territories.

A first of its kind for the region, the training is based on a package consisting of seven certified units of competencies in technical and vocational education and training (TVET), with each unit having a competency outline, a facilitator guide, a learner guide and workbook.

It was developed for the Vanuatu Rural Development Training Centre Association by SPC and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Coping with Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region (SPC/ GIZ CCCPIR) Programme working closely with the Industry Advisory Committees to ensure it adheres to national qualification standards and is a country owned, sustainable activity. 

“If successful, this training package could be adapted by PacTVET to meet other countries’ specific industry needs, competency requirements and unit standards,” stated SPC/GIZ’s Advisor on Climate Change and Education, Daniel Gerecke.

The training package has been adapted and extended to suit the Vanuatu context with all resources being available in English and French with a glossary of key terms in Bislama.

It has also been trialled in one of the Rural Training Centres (RTCs) of Vanuatu.

“This could well be the starting point of a truly regional coverage of integrating climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction aspects into TVET,” said Team Leader of the PacTVET Project, Dr. Sarah Hemstock.  

Participants will include trainers from the 31 Rural Training Centres of Vanuatu which are located on almost every island.

In a build up to this, education officers and instructors from the Ministry of Education recently underwent training on the integration of climate change adaption and disaster risk management (CCA &DRR) into the primary and secondary education sector through resources developed by several partners including SPC/GIZ CCCPIR, the University of the South Pacific, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization and development partners, the United States Agency for International Development and the Australian Agency for International Development.