Seventy Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC) students were honoured to have Fiji’s Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, Honourable Jone Usamate as their keynote speaker at the APTC graduation ceremony held on 14 March, 2014 at the Vale ni Soqo in Novotel, Nadi.
Guests were treated to a traditional dance to open the day’s program, followed by the welcoming of all those present to celebrate the achievements of the graduating students who were from Fiji and Nauru.
Honourable Usamate was proud to be the guest speaker and to be attending his third graduation function for APTC. He said, “For the future in any country, training and education is very important”.
“It is also critical for better employment opportunities and I believe that’s why you who are graduating today participated in this program to improve your employment prospects and at the same time to improve the quality of life for you and your family in the future.”
He also said, “As Fiji marches towards a brighter future, we will need good skilled workers and people who are good at not just talking about things but good at doing things. We need good and effective doers. That is why for me APTC is important because it produces doers with the right attitude.”
He challenged who were graduated by saying, “One of your responsibilities is not just to go out there and work but make sure you pass on your knowledge, skills and those attitude to work that you have acquired as being part of APTC and that is your challenge.”
APTC CEO, Denise O’Brien, hosted almost 200 invited guests including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Fiji’s Minister Counsellor, Regional Development, Mr John Davidson and colleagues, Consortium Board members, APTC staff, graduates’ families, employers, industry and local institute representatives.
The graduates had successfully completed their studies in one of the following APTC Certificate III and Certificate IV courses-Carpentry, Children’s Services, Hospitality (Lodge), Hospitality (Operations), Hospitality (Commercial Cookery), Hospitality (Patisserie), Hospitality Supervision and Tourism.
All qualifications are recognised by the Australian Qualifications Framework which gives APTC graduates the opportunity to ‘export their skills’ and find work both regionally and internationally.