An official ground-breaking ceremony that offers accredited courses in construction for the Tafea province was held earlier this month at the Tafea Provincial Government construction site.
The Tafea Provincial Government – South West Tanna Area Council Strengthening Building Project will emphasise ‘Build Back Safer’ construction techniques with information and input from the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and the Shelter Cluster.
This will address construction sector skills gaps in response to recent disasters such as TC Harold, COVID-19 and the ongoing impacts of extreme weather events.
The ceremony held on September 3 had marked the formal beginning of the first ever delivery of an accredited Certificate 2 course in construction for the Tafea Province.
The construction project is facilitated by the Tafea Skills Centre under the Ministry of Education and Training, and delivered through a partnership between Namas Lume Community Rural Training institution and the Vanuatu Institute of Technology (VIT).
Tafea Province Secretary General, Joe Iautim had acknowledged both Namas Lume and VIT for their success in forging such a constructive partnership, “after this event, Tafea Province will see the first ever delivery of a Certificate 2 level course in construction for builders selected to be trained and at the same time aid in the constructing of the project building.”
“This will also provide the opportunity for the trainees to further their careers in construction and upgrade their qualifications to Certificate 3 or 4 with VIT or through the Australia-Pacific Training Coalition, through the skill pathway enabled by this collaboration.
As a result of the twinning approach with VIT, Namas Lume trainers will have access to latest information on quality building practices and construction techniques.
Secretary General of Tafea Province, Mr. Joe Iautim (Left) President Tafea Provincial Council Mr. Jeffery Kaut (Centre) Acting VIT Principal Mr. Wade Evans (Right) Laying of foundation stone for the South Tanna Area Area Council Strengthening Building Project
VIT Acting Principal, Wade Evans, emphasised on the support that has been directed in helping to improve quality management systems for Lume Rural Training Institution over the past months.
“This is the first time for VIT to engage in such partnership and we have a twofold goal in the implementation phase,” he said
“First the building construction must be completed in a timely manner in compliance with Vanuatu’s building code.
“Second, constructors must be trained in the construction process so they can be awarded with a Certificate 2 in construction which is accredited and recognised by the Vanuatu Qualifications Authority.
VIT as the lead national Post-School Education and Training (PSET) provide, has a mandate under its Act to strengthen the quality of skills training delivery in rural and remote locations.
It plays an important role in supporting provincial training providers to contribute towards the priorities in the National Human Resource Development Plan and Yumi Evriwan Tugeta — Vanuatu Recovery Strategy 2020-2023.
Both the Nikoletan Area Council of Chiefs Spokesman and President of the Tafea Provincial Government Council, Jeffery Kaut, acknowledged the Vanuatu Government and donor partners for support to operationalizing decentralized Government services to ensure accessibility is made available to rural population.
This innovative skills training collaboration is supported by the Vanuatu Skills Partnership – a co-investment between the Ministry of Education and Training and the Government of Australia.