Daniel Lamoureux, the Director General of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth Development and Training presented certificates on Friday afternoon at the Vanuatu Institute of Technology to 28 trainers participating in a trial of the Train the Trainer Fellowship Program. This program is supported by the Australian Government funded Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Sector Strengthening Program.
“Your role as skilled trainers is critical for Vanuatu’s economic growth, its future prosperity and financial stability. You have come from all over Vanuatu to participate in this training, training that is designed to improve the quality of the training you give to your students. So I urge you to go back to your organisations in the provinces as disciples of TVET and assist us with our joint role of skilling the nation,” urged Daniel Lamoureux.
Under the Australian Government funded Technical Vocational Education and Training Program 160 Training Fellowships will be offered between now and the end of 2007 to trainers from training organisations all over Vanuatu. The TVET Sector Strengthening Program aims to strengthen and support training groups already active in the formal and non- formal training sectors in Vanuatu. The Fellowships will initially be offered at the Vanuatu Institute of Technology so that trainers can visit VIT to see the advanced technical and trade training being offered here at Vanuatu’s national training institution. Later, some parts of the 5 week course will be offered out in the provinces and in the two VIT Provincial Training Centres soon to be set up under the TVET Sector Strengthening Program – one in Isangel, Tanna and the other in Luganville, Santo.
The 5-week course consisted of three parts. The first was the Community Trainer Certificate (Level I), a one-week course for trainers who deliver non-formal short course programs in the community. The second part of the course was the Community Trainer Certificate (Level II), a more intensive three-week course for trainers who deliver training on courses at the Vanuatu Community Certificate level. The fifth and final week is a one-week course called “Operating a Rural Training Centre” developed in partnership between the TVET Program and VRDTCA the Vanuatu Rural Development Training Centre Association. This course will give training to those trainers interested in operating and managing a training institution in Vanuatu.
Trainers were selected for this trial from Government and NGO partners active in the delivery of training throughout Vanuatu. In the trial of the Fellowship Program there were representatives from the formal sector with teachers from secondary schools such as Tafea College, Epi, Matevulu and St Michel. Trainers also came from non-formal sector organisations such as RTCs, the churches, Youth Challenge, Vango, Vanwods, Habitat for Humanity and the VNCW as well as the Luganville Women’s Cooking Association. The next course will start on 5 August 2006.