PADDLE

PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT

PIFS(05)FEDMA.07

EDUCATION MINISTERS MEETING

Apia, Samoa
23-24 May 2005

SESSION EIGHT

REPORT FROM THE PACIFIC ASSOCIATION FOR TECHNICAL AND
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (PATVET)

This paper has been prepared by the Pacific Association of Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (PATVET), for the information of Ministers.

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PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT

PIFS(05)FEDMA.07

EDUCATION MINISTERS MEETING

Apia, Samoa
23-24 May 2005

Summary brief

SESSION 8: REPORT FROM THE PACIFIC ASSOCIATION FOR TECHNICAL
AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (PATVET)

Purpose

Ministers of Education welcomed the formation of PATVET at their meeting in
2002. This paper provides a report on PATVET’S activities.

Background

2.
PATVET now has widespread membership across the region. It has worked
closely with several key stakeholders including the Commonwealth of Learning (COL),
The New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID), the Open
Polytechnic of New Zealand (TOPNZ), UNESCO, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
(PIFS) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

3.
PATVET has undertaken various activities, outlined in the paper, and looks
forward to future activities, including having its own secretariat.

4.
A regional workshop held in February 2005 made several recommendations that
are being presented to Ministers for consideration.

Recommendations

Ministers for may wish to consider:

(a) Noting the progress achieved in moving the TVET agenda forward at both the
national and regional level in the Pacific to date,
(b) Acknowledging the lead role by PATVET in moving the TVET agenda forward,
(c) Acknowledging the commitment by a large number of national, regional and
international partners to work with PATVET to achieve the goals set by the
Education Ministers in the FBEAP in relation to TVET.

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(d) Noting that while there has been some progress in TVET in some countries since the
launch of the FBEAP 2001, TVET is often seen as a second-class alternative to
academic education,
(e) Championing the role, status and development of TVET at the national level in
Pacific Island countries and help mobilise resources to enhance the wider
understanding and acceptance of TVET in the region,
(f) Endorsing the planned development of a regional Inventory of TVET institutions in
the Pacific in 2005,
(g) Endorsing the planned development of the regional Qualifications Register after the
completion of the Inventory of TVET institutions, and subsequently the regional
Qualifications Framework,
(h) Noting the request for the SPC to host the regional secretariat of PATVET,
(i) Encouraging PRIDE to place more emphasis on TVET and encourage countries to
access PRIDE for support in this area. This would also put PRIDE in good stead
against the backdrop of the Bonn Declaration on TVET quoted below:

The Bonn Declaration

”…Since education is considered the key to effective development
strategies, Technical and Vocational Education and Training
(TVET) must be the master key that can alleviate poverty,
promote peace, conserve the environment, improve the quality of
life for all and help achieve sustainable development”.

UNESCO International Experts’ Meeting on Technical and
Vocational Education and Training, Bonn, Germany, 25-28th
October 2004

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PATVET ACTIVITIES IN THE REGION

Presented by
Sala Perive Tanuvasa Lene (President)

Introduction
The Ministers of Education of the Pacific Region agreed in the Forum Basic
Education Action Plan (FBEAP) in 2001 that it was important to develop a sound
National Education policy and planning framework. The Plan recognized the
importance of TVET and said that it should be included as a priority in the
national plans of respective countries and that countries should endeavor to raise
the status of TVET in their national policies. Ministers also agreed to consider the
setting up of a regional qualifications framework, covering basic, primary,
secondary, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and tertiary
education, benchmarked against appropriate international standards and
qualifications.

In 2002, Ministers of Education welcomed the formation of Pacific Association of
Technical and Vocational Education (PATVET) and its role in the development of
TVET in the region and agreed to recognize PATVET as having a key
contribution to make in reducing poverty in our countries.

Background - PATVET
In July 2001, TVET providers representing seven Pacific Island States met in
Suva where it was unanimously agreed that a regional TVET providers
association should be formed and recommendations were made to start
developing such a regional body. In October 2002, PATVET was formally
established and its constitution approved.

Since then, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), The New Zealand Agency for
International Development (NZAID), the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
(TOPNZ) and UNESCO have been sponsoring annual institutes for PATVET in
New Zealand and Samoa. Current PATVET membership includes 13 countries:
Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Is,
Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

At its meeting in Samoa in June 2003, and in its presentation to the Ministers
Forum, 2004, PATVET highlighted the difficulties that existed because there was
no uniform Regional Qualifications Framework (RQF) in the region. It was felf
that there was a very significant need to develop a RQF to make it easier for
TVET students to cross national borders within the region. This should also
improve the mobility of labour. As a first step PATVET members felt that they
needed to have a better understanding of the vision, the policies and
approaches, which have been developed in each of the island states.

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PATVET with financial assistance from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
commissioned and undertook a study to look at TVET policy in each of the
countries. Out of the seven island states that were able to carry out the survey,
only one had a national TVET Policy while the rest were either in the process
through establishing of qualifications authorities or are included as part of their
national Education Acts.

The following are the guidelines for PATVET Strategic Plan 2004 – 2007:

Vision
To be a strong united voice and a regional forum for TVET providers in the
Pacific.

Mission
To lead and facilitate the development and establishment of a quality TVET
system which will contribute to viable economy, sustainable environment, social
and cultural developments

Goals
• Support the development of a Pacific Qualifications Framework
• Set up a regional secretariat
• Pursue funding assistance to sustain PATVET activities
• Improve the sharing of information, access to databases, sharing of materials
through the PATVET network.

Completed Projects
• An Open and Distance Learning (ODL) course in “Learning About Small
Business” was designed by the TOPNZ and Samoa Polytechnic during
2001 and is now delivered in several countries of the region
• A Pacific TVET Policy Review was carried out in 2003 under funding from
PIFS
• A Tracer Study on the impact of “Learning About Small Business” to
participants lives was done 2003 under PIFS funding in Samoa
• A CD Rom course for ODL Policy Makers was conducted in 2003 by SP
for PATVET members
• Basic Trade Skills ODL course in basic carpentry was designed and put
together by PATVET representatives from Kiribati, Tuvalu and Niue
• Formation of national TVET providers associations

Current and Future Developments
As a result of on-going negotiations with SPC and PIFS on TVET, a Regional
Multi-Stakeholder Consultation Meeting on TVET in the Pacific – “The Way
Forward”, was sponsored by SPC and convened at the SPC Community
Education Training Centre in Narere, Fiji, from 15th – 17th February 2005. It was
attended by PATVET Members from eleven Pacific Island countries including the
Cook Islands (Ministry of Education -MoE), Fiji (Ministry of Education, Fiji

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Institute of Technology, Fiji Islands TVET Association), Nauru (MoE), Niue
(MoE), Papua New Guinea (MoE), Samoa (Samoa Polytechnic & Samoa
Association of TVET Institutions), Solomon Islands (Don Bosco Technical
Institute), Tokelau (MoE), Tonga (Tonga Institute of Science & Technology –
MoE), Tuvalu (DoE) and Vanuatu (Vanuatu Institute of Technology).

A number of key stakeholders in TVET in the Pacific also participated at the
consultation meeting including the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the South Pacific Board for
Education Assessment (SPBEA), the South Pacific Applied GeoScience
Commission (SOPAC), the South Pacific Tourism Organ isation (SPTO),
University of the South Pacific (USP), the Pacific Regional Initiative for Delivery
of (Basic) Education (PRIDE), the Australian Agency for International
Development (AusAID), the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the New Zealand
Agency for International Development (NZAID) and the Council of Pacific
Education (COPE).
1.
The regional consultation meeting agreed on the following:
• Establishing an inventory of TVET institutions existing in each country, the
courses they offer, costs for the courses, entry requirements for courses,
qualifications they award, linkages between TVET Institutions nationally or
within the region.
• Discuss and agree on mechanisms to develop a regional inventory of
TVET institutions in the pacific region,
• Discuss and agree on practical steps to be taken to work toward a
regional qualifications register and subsequently a regional qualifications
framework that will enable course comparison and accreditation
opportunities between institutions,
• Discuss and identify important ‘skill gaps’ that are not currently catered for
by any form of education modality,
• Discuss the issue of a regional secretariat to support the work of PATVET,
and,
• Develop a brief on TVET to be presented to the upcoming Forum
Education Minister’s meeting scheduled for May 2005 and provide some
input on TVET to the Pacific Plan Task Force who is currently developing
the Pacific Plan for strengthening regional cooperation and integration.

2.
After discussions, the regional consultation meeting agreed on the
following:
• A Regional Inventory of all TVET institutions and courses offered
needs to be developed as a matter of priority with a completion date by
December 2005.
• A regional qualifications register needs to be developed as a matter of
priority,
• A Qualification Framework would be the next logical step after
developing the qualifications register, but it has to be a longer term
goal, and would require substantial resources,

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• Information regarding ‘skill gaps’ area will come to the fore as part of
the survey on the inventory of TVET institutions.
• SPC be requested to host the regional secretariat of PATVET as there
is an urgent need for it to support the work of PATVET in moving
forward the following three issues: (i) regional inventory of TVET
institutions in the pacific, (ii) a regional qualifications register and (iii) a
regional qualifications framework which acknowledges the fact that
HRD is SPC’s core business,
• Welcomed and endorsed PATVET’s decision to establish a working
Sub-committee to lead and oversee the development of the regional
inventory of TVET institutions as well as PATVET’s support for the
process of developing a regional qualifications register with a specific
focus on the inventory in 2005,
• Expressed the wish to see TVET mainstreamed into the PRIDE
project
• To provide this outcome statement to the Pacific Plan Taskforce for
their consideration to incorporate the early wins identified herein in the
Pacific Plan.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Ministers for may wish to consider:
(a) Noting the progress achieved in moving the TVET agenda forward at both the
national and regional level in the pacific to date,
(b) Acknowledging the lead role by PATVET in moving the TVET agenda
forward,
(c) Acknowledging the commitment by a large number of national, regional and
international partners to work with PATVET to achieve the goals set by the
Education Ministers in the FBEAP in relation to TVET.
(d) Noting that while there has been some progress in TVET in some countries
since the launch of the FBEAP 2001, TVET is often seen as a second-class
alternative to academic education,
(e) Championing the role, status and development of TVET at the national level
in Pacific Island countries and help mobilise resources to enhance the wider
understanding and acceptance of TVET in the region,
(f) Endorsing the planned development of a regional Inventory of TVET
institutions in the Pacific in 2005,
(g) Endorsing the planned development of the regional Qualifications Register
after the completion of the Inventory of TVET institutions, and subsequently
the regional Qualifications Framework,
(h) Noting the request for the SPC to host the regional secretariat of PATVET,
(i) Encouraging PRIDE to place more emphasis on TVET and encourage
countries to access PRIDE for support in this area. This would also put
PRIDE in good stead against the backdrop of the Bonn Declaration on TVET
quoted below:

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The Bonn Declaration

”…Since education is considered the key to effective
development strategies, Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) must be the master key
that can alleviate poverty, promote peace, conserve the
environment, improve the quality of life for all and help
achieve sustainable development”.

UNESCO International Experts’ Meeting on Technical
and Vocational Education and Training, Bonn, Germany,
25-28th October 2004

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last updated Sat Sep 01, 2012