Youth Work students at the Australia-Pacific Technical College’s (APTC) Vanuatu Campus organised an industry morning tea for organisations that work with youth on Friday 12 February 2016. APTC is funded by the Australian Government and delivers a wide range of technical and vocational courses to increase the supply of skilled, competitive and productive workers in targeted sectors across the Pacific region.

The morning tea featured representatives from Vanuatu Ministry of Youth and Sport, Department of Women’s Affairs, Office of the Ombudsman, Oxfam Vanuatu, Vanuatu Society for Disabled People, World Vision, Transparency International Vanuatu, Red Cross, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Women, and the Vanuatu Women’s Centre. Representatives of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector were also present.

Twenty students enrolled in Certificate IV in Youth Work at the Vanuatu campus currently hold work placements with these organisations. The morning tea served as a networking opportunity for APTC staff and students to strengthen ties with the industry. 

APTC’s Vocational Training Advisor for Community Services and Health, Mr Gareth McGrath, said, “This event was also important from an academic perspective as it allowed us to assess part of the new elective unit: developing and maintaining networks and collaborative partnerships.”

This unit concentrates on the development of skills and knowledge to identify collaboration and networking needs, and the creation of formal and informal partnerships between workers and organisations to enhance service delivery and improve professional practice.

He added that this unit is also offered with other Community Services and Health packages, and can be used as an innovative way of completing assessment.

“The students were responsible for contacting the agencies, compiling the program and facilitating its implementation for the day. They developed a small budget and completed an evaluation to gain feedback from the organisations who attended for continuous improvement,” Mr McGrath added. 

National trainer for Youth Work, Goimel Soalo, who led the student-driven exercise, said the event was very successful and APTC looks forward to engaging with the industry further.