Helene Jacot des Combes

A Case for Formal Education in the Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Sector for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Pacific Islands Region

The Pacific Small Island Developing States (P-SIDS) are extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts and natural hazards due to their geographical location, topography and major economic sectors (agriculture, tourism and fisheries). The sustainable development and even the mere existence of these P-SIDS are under threat. Regionally, leaders are aware of this vulnerability and many related projects have been conducted on a national and regional basis by different stakeholders. Limited availability of appropriate formal training related to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the region has led to: lack of locally trained people to implement and monitor projects; use of donor funds to support foreign experts; unsuccessful projects causing maladaptation or increasing vulnerability and risk. Findings from a regional needs and gap analysis indicate that formal qualifications which account for local contexts are required to build national capacity to: accurately monitor and assess impacts of climate change and natural hazards; identify solutions to reduce these risks; and plan, manage and implement risk reduction projects to reduce damage and losses. This paper makes the case for the introduction of formal and accredited qualifications in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the technical, vocational education and training sector to support climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the Pacific Islands Region (PIR). The development of regionally-specific quality assured qualifications in this context is ground breaking and is the impetus for the European Union Pacific Technical Vocational Education and Training in Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Adaptation Project (EU PacTVET). Responsive and accredited regional qualifications should ensure that the interventions managed by those having these qualifications are really supporting sustainable development.

Using vocational education to provide development solutions in the Pacific: An emphasis on climate change and health

This article reports on the results of the EU PacTVET project, which explored the use of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to provide a better understanding on the development solution for the impact of climate change on human health in the region. It describes the findings of a 2014-2018 project on the use of vocational education to provide development solutions in the Pacific with an emphasis on climate change and health. An exploratory design was used to investigate how vocational education developed solutions for climate change and health in the 15 Pacific – African Caribbean and Pacific (P-ACP) countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Information collected via personal communication with relevant stakeholders, qualitative interviews, documents review, and survey (n=48) of youths and young women in Fiji. Data analysis was performed using thematic analytical strategy and frequency analysis. The study found that vocational education plays a significant role in building the capacity of people to become more sustainable and resilient in their life now and in the future. Also, getting an accredited qualification on health resilience and/or job in the health sector may help them to respond effectively and efficiently in the event of climate change and/or disasters caused by natural hazards. The same factors were explored quantitatively using descriptive analytical strategy, and concluded TVET education, to have a positive influence on climate change and health. As a result, vocational education could provide development solutions for health adaptation in the Pacific. These results indicate global actions for vocational education, that would perfect the course of resilience for these 15 P-ACP in the Pacific and alike in the U.S.

Capacity Development and TVET: Accredited Qualifications for Improving Resilience of Coastal Communities—A Vanuatu Case Study

For countries like Vanuatu, climate change is the most significant single threat to sustainable development, in particular due to the large proportion of the population living in coastal communities. Additionally Vanuatu is the world’s most at-risk country for natural hazards mainly affecting coastal communities (Birkmann and Welle in The world risk index, 2015). One of the key barriers to improving Pacific Island Countries’ resilience to climate change impacts is the lack of local and regional capacity and expertise resulting from the absence of sustainable accredited and quality assured formal training programs in climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk management (DRM) (Jordon et al. in Climate change policy in the European Union: confronting the dilemmas of adaptation and mitigation. Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, 2010; Martin et al. in Training needs and gap analysis. Suva, Fiji, 2015). The European Union funded PacTVET project has partnered with The Pacific Community (SPC) and the German aid agency (GIZ) Coping with Climate Change in the Pacific Region (CCCPIR) programme to support the delivery of the first accredited TVET certificate in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCDRR) in the Pacific Islands region. This TVET qualification provides outcomes based learning specifically focused on coastal communities through practical activities and field work involving vulnerable coastal areas throughout the provinces of Vanuatu. The delivery of the CCDRR course is being led by the Vanuatu government through the Vanuatu Institute of Technology and is leading regional and global developments in formal accredited TVET training for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction.