Working towards a resilient workforce in Vanuatu

6 September 2019

“For Vanuatu to be a more resilient nation, we need to empower our labour force.”

This was the comment made by Vanuatu’s Labour Commissioner, Murielle Meltenoven at the recent Skills for the Future Workshop held in Port Vila. 

Commissioner Meltenoven added that with the last national survey conducted in 2000, current labour market data is limited.

“We need to update our data and support each other to better understand and prepare the national workforce for future work,” she said.

The Commissioner noted that the Vanuatu National Sustainable Development Plan (NSDP) - The People’s Plan 2030, highlights the importance of creating jobs and business opportunities for people as well as ensuring resilience to climate change and disasters.

The workshop focused on collaborating with and supporting stakeholders to identify labour market needs, future workforce trends, and skills gaps to inform training and development plans that will target priority sectors. 

Led by the Vanuatu Government’s Department of Labour, the workshop was co-organised by the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) and the Australia Pacific Climate Partnership (APCP), as part of efforts that both organisations are currently undertaking on regional labour market assessments and climate skills audits.

Commissioner Meltenoven acknowledged the support of APTC and APCP, calling on all stakeholders to collaborate and work together to plan for labour market analyses in support of the NSDP.

APTC’s Country Director for Vanuatu and Nauru, Anna Naupa, said Skills for the Future Workshop participants are building on the Vanuatu Government’s vision to ensure that training provided targets the sectors most in need for the country’s sustainable development and prosperity.

“We want to gather relevant labour market data to inform the training programs we deliver and align these programs to the current and future labour market needs,” Ms Naupa said.

The APCP Pacific Climate Skills Audit in Vanuatu is analysing current and future climate labour markets, and identifying ways for ni-Vanuatu to better access climate resilient employment opportunities.

More than 30 representatives from the Vanuatu Government, training providers, industries, non-government organisations and civil society organisations attended the day-long workshop.