Australia and Papua New Guinea invest in youth skills for future leadership

Scholars of the Youth short course “Ethical Leadership in Action: Navigating Decision-Making” (Image: Supplied)

Young Papua New Guineans will be able to build practical skills to lead, work and create opportunities with the launch of a new series of youth-focused short courses.

Delivered through Australia Awards Papua New Guinea, the short courses offer practical and targeted training for recent university graduates and young professionals to navigate and thrive in workplaces, businesses and the community.

Eight courses will be facilitated by the University of the Sunshine Coast over the next 18 months, focusing on applied learning that participants can use immediately.

Ethical leadership and decision-making, governance, entrepreneurship, digital capabilities, project management, and monitoring and evaluation will be covered.

Australian High Commission representative Laura Marson giving her remarks to scholars of the short course “Ethical Leadership in Action". (Image: Supplied)

Courses will be delivered primarily in PNG and are designed to support work ready capacity needs, with selected courses offering study tours to Australia to build networks and gain further insights.

Australia and PNG’s shared commitment to supporting young women and men build skills, confidence and leadership capability is essential for individual success, strong institutions, inclusive economic growth and resilient communities.

One participant, Ms Lissah Iruinu, said the course has illuminated new possibilities for the future.

Participant Ms Lissah Iruinu. (Supplied)

“The course helped me to gain insights in reasoning, ethical decision-making, and leadership skills for achieving win-win solutions. It also introduced to me three different schools of thought to consider when making decisions.

“I feel more confident after attending the course, and I can now easily interact with other people,” she said.

Participants had the opportunity to network with potential employers, and two outstanding individuals will be offered an internship with Australia Awards PNG, to gain invaluable experiences and connections to support their future careers.

The 14 female and 14 male course participants now join a network of more than 7,000 Australia Awards alumni across PNG, many of whom are making positive change in the public sector, private sector and civil society.

Applications for future rounds of youth short courses will open later in 2026.
More information is available at australiaawardspng.org.