Educating skilled labor force gets multi-million Kina support

Papua New Guinea have the work force but skilled labor continues to be scarce.

Prime Minister James Marape believes Papua New Guineans to be empowered to the highest level it has to be in the education sector, but more so in the area of Technical and Vocational Education Training [TVET] where they are provided the skills and ethics to be competent and to be able to participate meaningfully in the country’s economy.

With skilled labor shortages in its closest developed economies of Australia and New Zealand, a potential foreign earner for the PNG economy.

PNG Government has partnered with a counterpart funding support of US$6 million [K20. 63 million] with the Asian Development Bank concessional loan of US$50 million [K171. 89 million], and the Government of Australia to contribute a grant of US$10 million [K34. 38 million], to educate more skilled blue-collar workers in the labor market.

Speaking at the opening of the two-day forum on TVET, Mr Marape described it as a milestone achievement aimed at empowering Papua New Guineans to participate in the country’s economy.

“In my view, it complements the ports, roads and airports that we are trying to invest in. Or what use is investment in roads, if we don’t have people to work in the construction sector, so thank you, Asian Development Bank,’’ Prime Minister Marape said.

He also thanked Australia for maintaining to be PNG’s major bilateral development partner since Independence, and highlighted that the workforce developed in PNG would also benefit Australia and New Zealand.

The Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology will implement the 'Improved TVET for Employment' project in 10 TVET Colleges throughout the country.