APTC focuses on TVET

THE Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) in Port Moresby provides technical vocational education in the Pacific.
APTC country director Dr Brad Shaw said they had been providing technical vocational education and training (TVET) for more than 11 years in the region.
“It was recognised in the John Howard government in Australia back in 2007 that there should be a huge investment in TVET across the Pacific,” he said.
“It was then called the Australian Technical College because it was recognising existing skills that people have across the Pacific and bridging the gap in what they had and what the Australian qualification would have.”
He told a trade fair hosted by the APTC and the Port Moresby Technical College that without partnership, they would not be able to deliver a sustainablefoot print.
Shaw said while delivering Australian standard training, they had to be mindful of the type of industry available in a specific region so trainings and courses were in line with the type of jobs available.
“Each country has its own context of TVET so we have to understand that across the Pacific,” he said.
“We are making sure they have ownership of the qualification framework.
“We can’t just provide the same trainings everywhere because again it depends on the industry.”
He said PNG people might need different types of basic skill training to suit the type of community they came from.
“With a lot of mineral resource companies in PNG, they need specialised welding like pressure welding and pipe welding,” he said.
“But if you go to a country like Samoa, it might not be the same type of welding.”
So we have to recognize that we just can’t do the same everywhere. It depends on the industry.”