Open and Flexible TVET in the Pacific 

A study of Open and Flexible TVET in the Pacific commissioned by COL in 2011, revealed that 8 of the 9 Commonwealth Pacific countries (Kiribati being the exception), identified TVET as an important part of their most recent education strategies. All countries included open or flexible education in some way, with most mentioning ICT as a way to support this. Distance learning methods, including the use of ICT, appear to be frequently mentioned in policies and workshops but not yet consistently implemented. The study, carried out by our partners at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, was designed to review national policy and activities in open and flexible TVET and make recommendations for possible COL activities in the region.

Regional TVET policy

There are a number of regional policies related to open and flexible TVET:

The Pacific Association of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (PATVET) recognises the need to build awareness of the potential of ICT and ODL to support TVET in remote locations, communicating existing good practice across their network, and finding potential partners to help develop ICT and ODL solutions.

The Pacific Plan for Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Integration (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2007a) includes steps for immediate implementation of a digital strategy that recognises the potential of an improved ICT infrastructure to support distance learning, including a regional study to understand needs and possible mechanisms. 

The Skilling the Pacific Study (Johanson, Brady, Gorham, & Voigt-Graf, 2008) proposed a project working with PATVET to extend the present Fiji Institute of Technology’s (FIT) franchise programmes across the Pacific.

The Pacific Education Development Framework (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2009b) stresses the importance of TVET and of ODL and recognises the potential for ICT and ODL to support innovative teacher training to address the present teacher capability gap and provide lifelong learning for teachers.

Recommendations for COL

A number of Pacific-specific challenges exist that will require Pacific-specific solutions. The report discusses challenges facing implementation of open and flexible TVET in the Pacific and suggests possible actions COL might take to progress this important area. These include:

1. Be Pacific relevant
2. Leadership and planning 
3. Resource-based learning
4. ICT infrastructure and online learning
5. Capacity building
6. Work-based training
7. Status of open and flexible TVET

We invite all interested stakeholders to read Open and Flexible TVET in the Pacific and the Education Specialist for Skills Development would be happy to receive any comments or feedback.

Vocational Literacy

One of the barriers preventing many Pacific young people from benefiting from trade training is their lack of numeracy and literacy in English. In June 2010, COL supported the Oloamanu Centre at the National University of Samoa to facilitate a workshop to develop vocational literacy materials to support the COL Basic Trades training courses – Working with Concrete and Working with Timber. The writers came from Tuvalu, Nauru, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Samoa, PNG and Vanuatu. Before starting the writing, the background to each national context in vocational literacy was presented.

The materials are available as open education resources (OERs). Pilot courses have been delivered and evaluated in Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Samoa and PNG. In the light of the evaluation, the materials have been revised. The course is now being rolled out in both Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

Working with Concrete and Vocational Literacy

Nauru has a particular problem with overcrowded housing and a high proportion of unemployed youth. With support from COL and New Zealand Aid, Nauru trained 218 young people in Working with Concrete and vocational literacy. 78% of the students completed the programme which mobilized tutors and tradespeople in 14 Districts. During the training, many community projects were completed, including:

• old houses were fixed
• a community playground was built
• a community shower
• community water tank base
• community bus stands
• a pig sty
• an infant school tuck-shop base
• a church bell hut
• a BBQ stand for the community hall
• foundation for community meeting venue

The team in Nauru is supported by the Secretary of Education and they aim to continue the training to include Working with Timber so that the students can work towards building their own accommodation shelter.

Community Education and Training Centre (CETC)

Since 1963, CETC, as a programme of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), has trained 30 Pacific women in a Certificate in Community Development every year at their Centre in Suva, Fiji – 1,635 women in total. The course is currently being delivered full-time, face-to-face for 7 months. Through distance education and local delivery through Implementing Partners, CETC wants to increase the number of people trained each year, make the delivery more efficient and improve the quality of the programme. DE will also improve equity by enabling them to include males in the programme.

Working in partnership with COL, CETC staff and stakeholders have developed a Certificate in Community Development programme blueprint, drafted new distance learning materials and planned for a pilot delivery in Vanuatu.  CETC is partnering with the Vanuatu Rural Development & Training Centres Association.

As noted in the Open and Flexible TVET in the Pacific report, some countries have specific policies relating to the use of open, distance and flexible learning approaches. COL consultants worked with the Distance Education Technical Working Group from the Ministry of Education & Human Resource Development (MEHRD) to draft the Strategic Framework for Distance Education and Flexible Learning Policy and Policy Statement. These important statements have now been progressed by the Distance Education Technical Working Group and have been approved by Cabinet. The central principle of the Distance Education and Flexible Learning Policy is to achieve a situation where distance education and flexible learning are part of the normal work of every educational provider. The MEHRD intends to focus initial DFL efforts on teacher education and post-basic education, including TVET.