(ANS – Honiara) – The Don Bosco Technical Institute in Honiara has been chosen by the Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC), a programme of the Australian government, as the location for a new APTC campus. APTC was set up to provide for the Technical and Professional training for the young people of the Pacific sustained by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

The agreement for collaboration between the Salesian Centre and APTC, worth 1.9 million Australian dollars, was signed by the Director General of AusAID, Mr Peter Baxter, on 2 May last. Hundreds of students, teachers and members of the educative community of Honiara took part in the festive celebrations.

Mr Baxter said the partnership will give more Solomon Islanders the chance to learn new skills and secure a job. “Up to 300 students will now have the chance to gain internationally recognised qualifications in automotive repair and construction over the next three years,” Mr Baxter said. “They will join more than 490 Solomon Islanders who have already graduated from APTC and now have the skills, training and confidence to take advantage of job opportunities, either in Solomon Islands or in the region.”

Mr Baxter said the partnership will fund the enrolment of students and support upgrades to Don Bosco’s facilities. “I am pleased that we are partnering with Don Bosco – an important institution of teaching, learning and training in Solomon Islands,” Mr Baxter said.

Supporting investments in training and skills development is a key focus of the Solomon Islands – Australia Partnership for Development, and for AusAID more widely in the Pacific.

The A$150 million APTC was established in 2007 to increase the number of skilled workers in the Pacific, and improve employment opportunities for Pacific Islanders. More than 4,950 Pacific Islanders have graduated with new skills from the APTC’s four campuses in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

Solomon Islanders will continue to have access to the APTC’s four other regional campuses and a range of courses including hospitality, engineering and community services.

“May this partnership empower and enhance the lives of the young and give them better possibilities in life” said Fr Ambrose Pereira, Director of the Honiara Salesian house.

Published 30/05/2013