The Regional Steering Committee meeting for the European Union funded Pacific Technical and Vocational Education and Training EU PacTVET project was held at the Holiday Inn, Suva on Monday 19 March. It was the first in a marathon of regional steering committee meetings, which included EU PacTVET, as well as Adapting to Climate change and Sustainable Energy (ACSE), and Coping with Climate Change in the Pacific Island Region (CCCPIR).
In his opening address for the EU PacTVET meeting, the Director Budget and Planning of Fiji’s Ministry of Economy, Mr Isoa Talemaibua acknowledged the collaboration between the EU PacTVET project and the Ministry of Education through the Fiji Higher Education Commission and highlighted the support and input from national stakeholders.
During the Committee Meeting, participants were provided with an overview on eight regionally developed qualifications in Resilience and Sustainable Energy accredited by the Educational Quality and Assessment Programme on the Pacific Qualifications Framework, and registered on the Pacific Register of Qualifications and Standards.
SPC Director of Geoscience, Energy and Maritime Division, Dr Andrew Jones stressed the importance of these certifications for the region, saying, “These certifications are a first for the Pacific. They will go a long way towards building regional and national capacity and technical expertise in response to climate change adaptation and sustainable energy challenges.”
Other highlights from the meeting included an EU PacTVET Project team update on the progress of work in fifteen Pacific countries, including success stories from Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu and the status of the Pacific Regional Federation of Resilience Professionals.
Participants also discussed how to better collaborate across ACSE components. In particular, discussions took place on how the EU PacTVET project could collaborate with the other ACSE components as well as CCCPIR to meet the needs identified by the countries.
The EU PacTVET project is funded by the European Union and co-financed by GIZ as part of a Euro 32 million ACSE Programme funded under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF 10) Pacific regional envelope. The project is being implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC) in partnership with The University of the South Pacific (USP) over a period of 71 months.
Media contacts:
Amelia Siga, EU PacTVET Team Leader, amelias
spc.int or +679 3379250
Louise Hughes, EU PacTVET Communications Consultant, c_l_hughesyahoo.co.uk or +679 9710582
Useful links:
SPC USP EU Pacific technical and vocational education and training
Newly accredited regional certificates for resilience and sustainable energy provide new opportunities in the Pacific/
Acse Pacific