Integrate SME training in institutions, says official

EDUCATION institutions especially in East New Britain (ENB) have been encouraged to be involved in small-to-medium enterprise (SME) financial literacy programmes.
Small to Medium Enterprise Corporation (Smec) official Edward Kepa made the suggestion during the end of the two-week Training of the Trainers (ToT for the 24 Technical Vocational Education Training (Tvet) and technical secondary school teachers in ENB, West New Britain and New Ireland.
The training on “know about business in fisheries” was held in Kokopo recently.
Kepa explained that the ToT programme was implemented through a partnership between the National Fisheries Authority, the Department of Education and Smec.
Kepa said that such programme was important for schools as it would have an impact on young people after leaving school.
When they start their own business, they would contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
It also helps schools to start their own SME activities for their internal revenue.
Main Gawasa from the National Fisheries College in Kavieng, New Ireland said the ToT programme is in line with the Government’s Vision 2050.
Meanwhile, ENB Tvet inspector Fatima Parapi said the programme would help young people become self-employed in their communities.
“For the teachers, you have to complete the business plan and the action plan before you go back.
“These documents will be given back to the authorities for monitoring and implementation.
“As an inspector, I will be part of this assessment,” she said.