Minister says technical education vital for nation building

Youth & Careers

THE Technical and Vocational Education Training is important to nation building which the government must fully support, says Labour and Industrial Relations Minister Mehrra Kipefa.
He said a skilled workforce was important to every nation and PNG must seriously invest in and drive skills development in the country.
“We have the Small-to-Medium Enterprise policy with the government allocating K100million to SMEs in the 2018 budget,” he said.
“I think we need to tie up the TVET with SMEs. We need to create a pathway for our technical people to use the skills and knowledge they have in creating products or providing service to other people. We need to link from one point to the other until we produce results that are physical and tangible.
“For instance, let’s look at a mechanic who has wealth of experience. Why not give him a seed capital to set up a tyre service or a workshop on the roadside?”