Government TVET Sector Strengthening Program PO Box 528 , T: (678) 37933 F: (678) 37561

Mr Joel Path Secretary General

15 June 2011

TVET PROGRAM SANMA UPDATE – May 2011

Secretary General,

Please find below a brief report on key activity undertaken by the TVET Sector Strengthening Program to improve the quality of, and access to, training delivery in SANMA Province in support of provincial development for the month of May, 2011.

1. Employment and Training Fund (ETF) Training

Four training programs have been delivered:

 Bookkeeping – this was conducted at the Mothers Union by the Department of Coops for 26 Vanwods members  Business Planning – the demand for this training came from Save the Children. It was delivered by the Department of Coops at the Mothers Union for 25 people from Luganville and surrounding areas  Quality Control Management – 16 participants (including 4 women) were trained by VCCI at the College de Luganville  Human Resource Management – the same group of 16 also completed this unit delivered by VCCI at College de Luganville.

All of the participants in these last two programs have already completed other units in the Vanuatu Foundation Certificate - Business Management course. In fact, four of the participants are well underway to completing the full qualification and should do so in June. This is a major achievement for people who previously did not have access to the formal training system to be

1 able now to complete a full qualification through the flexible delivery strategies being funded under the ETF. This is a great example of lifelong learning where participants are able to build a qualification over time. Every month the Centre Manager updates the Sanma ETF report. An analysis has been undertaken of this report and the following graphs should be of great interest to you and the Sanma Council. The first graph shows the level of male and female participation in the various sectors.

ETF Training Sanma Participation by gender and sector

Fisheries

Trade Skills

Agric ‐ Crops Female Male Agric ‐ Livestock

Business

0 100 200 300 400

The numbers shown relate to all ETF training that has occurred in Sanma Province since the TVET Program began in 2009. As can be seen there has been good participation by women but there remains scope for improvement. The TVET Centre is putting in place strategies to encourage higher levels of female participation in training across all sectors. The higher levels of training have been in Agriculture and Business. This is consistent with the significance of agriculture to the Sanma economy and the generic nature of business training which relates to all sectors. On the following page, the graphs indicate the places where training has occurred in Sanma and the locations that trainees have come from. The first of these graphs indicates that training is being delivered in many different parts of Sanma. There is a high proportion of training in Luganville but as the second graph shows most trainees are coming from rural and remote areas . The Program has defined the West Coast and Big Bay area as remote, the East Coast and South Santo as rural and Luganville as urban. It is interesting to note the increasing participation of trainees from remote areas.

2 ETF Training Sanma Participation by gender and location

Hog Harbour South Santo Ambakura Rafleba Namorru Manioc Randel Female Port Orly Male Tassiriki West Malo Malau East Malo Luganville

0 100 200 300 400 500

ETF Training Sanma Where participant’s come from 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 2010 30% 2011 20% 10% 0% Urban Rural Remote

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2. Business Development Services (BDS)  A one day workshop and demonstration was conducted on sandalwood propagation and nursery set‐up for 25 Vanwods Centres in Luganville. This brings the total to around 350 participants who have taken part in the sandalwood program. Five different experts from the Department of Forestry assisted in providing these services to the Vanwods members. This is part of an ongoing partnership between Forestry, Vanwods and the TVET Program.  The Farm Support Association (FSA) undertook an assessment of vanilla production in Big Bay. The assessment included the certification of 9 organic vanilla farms in the area. Based on the assessment’s recommendation, a 6 month vanilla program was drafted for a follow up with other potential vanilla farmers in Big Bay. We are hoping that after this activity more farms will be certified as organic farms.  The second Redi Blo Bisnes (RBB) seminar, site visit and coaching with RBB clients was undertaken. Results from the site visit show some very good progress with individual projects which range from agriculture, livestock, retail shops, block making and poultry. One client managed to obtain a loan from the bank and started a new building for a retail shop.

3. Training Provider Support Services (TPSS  A site visit was conducted to Lorevilko Training Center (LTC) and now TPSS is working to assist LTC become registered with VNTC.  Working with St Michel to review its training structure and its module descriptors.  Working relationship with VMC now improving and work is in progress to organize trainings in rural fishing and small vessel operation

4 4. M&E:  A great deal of follow up activity has been conducted with all ETF and BDS participants in time to prepare six monthly reports for the Provincial Training Board and the Strategic Advisory Group meeting to be held in Port Vila on June 24.  Ongoing baseline data collection for ETF and BDS trainings has continued. 5. Capacity Building  The Provincial Planner, the Provincial Training Board Chair, the Centre Manager, the Business Development Services Manager and the Finance Manager all recently completed the first three units of a Diploma in Management course delivered by the Australian Pacific Technical College.  Given the success achieved to date, the Program is now looking to support the participants (cited above) to complete the remaining five units. On successful completion they will receive an Australian qualification – Diploma in Management. As you will appreciate, the achievements to date are the product of a high level of cooperation and coordination between the TVET Centre staff and the PTB, Provincial Government, and the various sectoral representatives. It goes without saying that the support provided by your office is gratefully acknowledged.

Best wishes

Peter Morris Acting Team Leader, TVET Sector Strengthening Program

Cc: Sakaraia Daniel, SANMA Provincial Planner Jimmy Solomon, SANMA PTB Chair Joe Iautim, Director, Ministry of Youth Development, Sports and Training David Lambukly, CEO, VNTC Moulin Tabouti, SANMA TVET Centre Manager Fremden Shadrack, BDS Manager Christelle Thieffry, Senior Program Officer, AusAID

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