Education

APTC celebrates graduation of Kiribati students

by Sherita Sharma · Published March 22, 2018 · Updated April 28, 2018

The Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC) celebrated the achievements of 19 students who were awarded Australian qualifications at a graduation ceremony in Kiribati on 21 March 2018.

APTC is a flagship program of the Australian Government and has been providing Australian-standard skills and qualifications across a wide range of vocations for skilled workers across the Pacific for more than a decade. During this time, APTC has trained over 12,000 Pacific people, of which, more than 440 are Kiribati nationals.

The students graduated with qualifications in Carpentry, Commercial Cookery, Electrotechnology Electrician, Diesel Fitting, Fitting and Machining, Hospitality, Individual Support, Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology, Wall and Floor Tiling and Youth Work.

While delivering the keynote address, Minister for Employment and Human Resource, Honourable Ioteba Redfern, encouraged the new graduates to share their new skills within their workplaces and in their communities to help in the development of the country.

He congratulated the eight women graduates, and said he was pleased to see more women seeking qualifications in technical and vocational careers. To date, more than 175 women from Kiribati have graduated from APTC.

The Minister thanked the Australian government for providing such training and upskilling opportunities for people in Kiribati through APTC.

The Australian High Commissioner to Kiribati, His Excellency Bruce Cowled extended the best wishes of the Australian Government and encouraged the new graduates to do their best and be role models within the community.

APTC maintains an ongoing relationship with the Kiribati Institute of Technology (KIT). The collaboration has provided six Kiribati nationals from KIT with a pathway to further their studies at APTC to an Australian qualification. These students also graduated during the ceremony.

The new graduates completed their studies at APTC campuses in Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.