The atmosphere last week was electric at the Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC) classroom for the start of the very first Solomon Islands based Certificate III training program. Sixteen students commenced their study in the AustralianCertificate III in Early Childhood Education and Caretraining. The classes are being held at the training room at the YWCA in Honiara. All of the students are Kindergarten teachers approved by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development as well as their employers.
APTC is a development initiative funded by the Australian Government to deliver training and to increase the supply of skilled workers in targeted sectors in the Pacific region. APTC has campuses in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
This Early Childhood course is the minimum qualification internationally for workers in Child Care centres, preschools and kindergartens. Several Solomon Island students have already qualified in both the Certificate III and Diploma courses with APTC, but in each case the student had to go to another APTC campus for study. Ms Francis Howes (APTC Country Manager Solomon Islands) noted that “this is the first time we have been able to offer training in a Certificate III program without the students having to travel overseas and leave their families and workplaces.After afeasibility study APTC was funded by the Australian government to open a small campus in the Solomon Islands in 2013. We are now very excited to expand the training here to include 6 programs in the highest demand trades and Early Childhood training, as well as the Certificate II programs already underway at the Don Bosco Technical Institute. The choice of these courses for this campus is based on a needs assessment from Solomon Island industry forums. Solomon Island citizens can continue to apply for all other APTC courses through the office at the Alvero Centre Point Cruz.”
The APTC trainer for the Early Childhood course is Ms Rebekah Farmer from Australia. She brings with her a great wealth of knowledge and experience in training in this program. She said, “I am so pleased to be here to teach these experienced kindergarten teachers. They clearly have a wealth of knowledge and skills and it will be exciting to teach them in both the classroom and back in their own schools when I visit for training and assessment. Their training will be in classroom and workplace blocks between July and December. I am also looking forward to having a Solomon Island tutor in the teaching team. This person will be a great asset to the training as they will already have completed the Australian qualification.”
APTC is currently recruiting for positions in the team for the Solomon Islands. There will soon be 12 people employed by APTC in the Solomon Islands team including 5 expat trainers from Australia, 6 Solomon Island citizens in both administration and training, as well as the Country Manager.
APTC has an ongoing partnership with Don Bosco Technical Institute (DBTI) in the Solomon Islands. To date, APTC has been running parallel classes with DBTI in Certificate II in Carpentry and Automotive and these are continuing. From September, APTC will also be offering Certificate III programs in Automotive and Formwork/ Falsework for Solomon Islanders at the DBTI campus at Henderson. APTC is very appreciative of the excellent working relationship with DBTI and looks forward to the coming expansion to both courses offered, and the facilities on site.