Thursday, 28 September 2023 – 9.00am NUS Gymnasius Le Papaigalagala
Acknowledgements
- Rev. Uta Muaulu
- Ms Claire McGeechan, Acting Australian High Commissioner to Samoa
- Mr Tim Harbison, APTC Director Skills and System Strengthening
- Lagaaia Lealiifano Easter Manila-Silipa, APTC Country Director for Samoa and Tonga
- Chief Executive Officers of Government Agencies and Private Sectors
- Graduates
- Esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen
Main Points
Talofa lava and a very good morning to you all.
On behalf of the Government of Samoa, I am delighted to deliver the keynote address for the APTC Samoa Graduation Ceremony today.
I would like to begin by congratulating each and every one of the 103 women and men on achieving a significant milestone by graduating today.
The Samoan Government acknowledges your hard work and resilience in completing your Australian qualifications in a number of vocational areas, and we are proud of your accomplishments.
Today, the graduates will be awarded with qualifications in 12 different vocational programs: Construction, Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology, Carpentry, Plumbing, Tourism, Hospitality, Commercial Cookery, Community Services, Individual Support, Leadership and Management, Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways and International Skills Training TVET Trainer and Assessor Courses.
To all the graduands, as your Minister for Education, Sports and Culture, I wish to convey the Government’s sincere congratulations on your achievements. Malo le tauivi, malo le fai o le faiva.
I am confident that the APTC has appropriately equipped you to put your new qualifications and skills into practice as part of Samoa’s growing workforce.
Some of you received your training virtually and or away from home at other APTC campuses around the region. Your resilience and persistence is indeed inspiring.
I also wish to acknowledge your employers, families, friends and trainers for continuously providing support and encouragement during your learning journey with the APTC.
We also have graduands here today from key government organisations and ministries, such as the staff from the Samoa Police, Prisons and Corrections Services; Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority; Samoa Water Authority and the Samoa Electric Power Corporation.
The relationship between the Governments of Samoa and Australia encompasses ongoing development cooperation to improve and provide better employability opportunities for Samoa graduates to serve in both local and international labour markets.
A key highlight of today’s graduation is the significant number of women graduates, compared to our previous APTC graduations. We have more than 60 women graduates who have successfully completed their technical and vocational programs. Fifteen of these women are graduating in male-dominated trades such as Construction and Plumbing.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our women graduates and acknowledge the Australian Government and APTC for these opportunities to support the Samoan Government’s efforts in promoting female participation and helping them realise their full potential in skills training.
The Samoan Government recognises the relationship between the APTC and the Samoa Qualifications Authority to raise the quality of Samoa’s qualifications within the region and to support labour mobility, particularly in specialty areas linked to overseas job markets.
The Samoa Education Sector Plan guides the Samoan Government’s commitment to providing access to quality education and training for all Samoan citizens, regardless of their socio-economic background.
I also wish to acknowledge the work between APTC and the National University of Samoa that ensures that TVET programs are relevant to national needs, and meet the demands of local and international labour markets.
The main focus is to improve the quality of our graduates and their employability through new skills and knowledge gained to ensure our people can continue to access new opportunities, increase their employability, and contribute to national development.
I also acknowledge the commitment of the Australian Government in meeting the needs and aspirations of Samoans to build resilience to climate change and disaster through programs that support the integration of climate change and disaster resilience in infrastructure.
Concluding Remarks
To all the graduands, congratulations once again.
You are now part of the 19,000 APTC alumni in the region, and I look forward to your services and contributions to advance growth for the benefit of all Samoans.
You are now TVET pioneers and role models. You will help shape the thoughts and minds of society and future generations on their perspective of TVET as a promising career choice.
This is not the end of your learning journey. Please continue to learn and grow both personally and professionally in order for you to support the development of our people and country.
Lastly, I wish to acknowledge the Government of Australia for their support and collaboration with the Samoa Education Sector in fostering and shaping the future of our people and country.
Well done and best wishes to all the graduates in your future endeavours.
Faafetai tele lava. Soifua ma ia manuia
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BACKGROUND OF THE AUSTRALIA PACIFIC TRAINING COALITION
A centre of training excellence, the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) helps Pacific Island citizens gain Australian skills and qualifications for a wide range of vocational careers.
Over 19,000 Pacific Island and Timorese citizens have since graduated with Australian qualifications from APTC’s campuses in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. These qualifications range from Certificate III to Diploma level training for various vocational areas, including automotive, manufacturing, construction, electrical, tourism, hospitality, education, management, health and community services.
These graduates have returned to the industry and implemented a range of new skills, with over 90% of employers of APTC graduates reporting their significant contribution towards improving workplace productivity.
APTC works in partnership with regional governments, industry and training providers to develop a more skilled, inclusive and productive workforce aligned with domestic and international labour market requirements to enhance Pacific prosperity.
APTC’s end-of-program outcomes are:
- Graduates have improved employment outcomes
- Co-investment in skills training increases
- Selected TVET partners demonstrate quality TVET provision
APTC is an Australian Government initiative in partnership with the Pacific and Timor-Leste.
