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The publication comprises papers that mainly focus on strategies to reduce poverty, youth empowerment through skills development and the importance of a sustainable human development particularly in the rural areas. In addition, 13 country papers discussing unique poverty alleviation mechanisms and strategies from the CPSC member countries are also highlighted.

Excerpt from publisher's website.

The conference proceedings includes: SDPA Project Report / Mohammad Naim Yaakub; Conference Report - Recommendations and Conference Conclusion: 'Marco Polo Pact: Journey to Zero Poverty'; Plenary session 1 - Initiatives and Strategies for Poverty Reduction in Asia and the Pacific Region: Promoting Skills Development in the Asia and the Pacific Region: Context and Challenges / Sungsup Ra (pages 19-24); Poverty Reduction in Asia Pacific Region by Synergizing TVET and Entrepreneurship / Suresh Kumar Dhameja (pages 25-39); Plenary session 2: Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development: International Cooperation and Promotion of TVET Experiences of Training International Industrial Technology Educators in Japan / Hidetoshi Miyakawa (pages 43-51); Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development: A Case of ASA Philippines Foundation / Kamrul Hasan Tarafder (pages 53-58); Plenary session 3 - Building Skills for Employability: Building Skills for Youth Employability / Dato' Amir bin Md Noor (pages 61-70); Promoting TVET for Poverty Alleviation, Entrepreneurship and Employability in Malaysian Polytechnics / Datuk Hj. Mohlis Bin Jaafar (pages 71-82); Poverty Alleviation through Skills Development for Employability / Ram Hari Lamichane (pages 83-92); Building Skills for Youth Employability / Raman Gujral (pages 93-105); Plenary session 4 - Initiatives and TVET Best Practices for Poverty Alleviation, Entrepreneurship and Employability (Country Paper Presentations): Afghanistan / Ebadullah Ahmadi (pages 109-120); Bangladesh / Mofizul Islam (pages 121-128); Bhutan / Naku Dorji (pages 129-130); Fiji / Pene S. Aropio (pages 131-148); India / Shivappa Nitin Lingayat (pages 149-162); Malaysia / Ainun Rafieza binti Ahmad Tajuddin (pages 165-176); Maldives / Aminath Asra (pages 177-180); Myanmar / Maung Maung Thant (pages 181-189); Nepal / Maung Maung Thant (pages 193-198); Pakistan / Bilal Ilyas (pages 199-210); Philippines / Leonor B. Diaz (pages 211-219); Sri Lanka / A.M.R.R. Abeykoon (pages 223-230); Thailand / Kuntima Sirithien (pages 231-244). Show less

For many years, labour-intensive technology was considered the only acceptable technology for labour-surplus situations in the majority of the Asian developing economies. Some countries, particularly in South Asia, were openly against accepting technology that displaced labour, as compared to others which were pursuing an export-led growth path. Such technology was also quite costly in the 1950s. Simple technological progress, like office automation, came much later. On the other hand, newly-industrialising countries and some fast growing economies have been deliberately adopting technology and seem to have fared better, not only in accelerating economic growth, but also in promoting employment. This publication attempts to provide a response to the seemingly intractable dilemma faced by many developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region of whether to promote the use, adoption, and adaptation of advanced technology in the production processes and, if so, how to deal with its adverse consequences on employment. Show less

Pacific peoples in New Zealand are more likely than the rest of the country's population to engage in unpaid and voluntary work. For this reason, this literature scan has been undertaken to identify research published since 2010, on the nature of unpaid work that is undertaken by Pacific Island women in New Zealand. The underlying assumption that we are testing through this scan is that unpaid work undertaken by Pacific women is different to unpaid work undertaken by Maori women, Pakeha women and other ethnic women. Unpaid work has been highlighted as an aspect of wellbeing that is difficult to assess and account for in the way our economy counts 'things of value'. This initial work is also intended to contribute to these ongoing discussions on the measurement and value of women's work.

We completed a broad literature search of electronic databases to identify research published between 2010 and 2018 relating to unpaid work undertaken by Pacific women in New Zealand. Literature searches were conducted to identify relevant documents available from both government and non-governmental sources. Key words were used in order to find literature published from 2010 to 2018. Key headings included: Unpaid work undertaken by Pacific peoples in New Zealand; Time use in New Zealand - with a focus on information regarding Pacific peoples; Quantitative research on unpaid work by Pacific peoples; Qualitative research on unpaid work by Pacific peoples; and Pacific women and childcare.

On completion of the literature scan, five 'reports' were identified. These reports contained qualitative research surrounding unpaid work undertaken by Pacific women or information surrounding the values and cultural expectations that drive Pacific engagement in unpaid work. The report A Qualitative Study into Pacific Perspectives on Cultural Obligations and Volunteering (Tamasese, Parsons, Sullivan, & Waldegrave, 2010) was included as one of the five pieces of literature. Within this report, Tamasese et al. presented case studies of six separate Pacific nations' volunteering experiences. The six Projects of Pride covered Tokelau, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, Cook Islands - Atiu and Samoa. These case studies have been included in the literature scan.

There were three key themes identified across the literature scan that fit the criteria of the review: (1) Use of the word 'volunteering' - Across all the literature, unpaid work that benefits family or the wider Pacific community is not defined as 'volunteering' by most Pacific peoples in New Zealand. Cultural obligations, as expressed through reciprocal relationships and values such as service and generosity, are preferred terms; (2) Pacific peoples carry out more unpaid work than the rest of New Zealand's population - This literature scan shows that Pacific peoples living in New Zealand undertake more unpaid work than the general population. Activities such as household work (e.g. cooking, cleaning, and gardening) were the most common type of unpaid work undertaken. Pacific peoples are also more likely to care for an individual who is ill or elderly than the rest of the New Zealand population - with Pacific women taking on the role of carer more often than men. Unpaid care work makes up a significant portion of the unpaid work Pacific women engage in; and (3) Breakdown of ethnicity more common than breakdown of gender - It was more common for there to be data available regarding ethnicity of participants than the gender of participants in studies regarding unpaid work in New Zealand.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

This report presents the key findings of research into the impacts of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic on women in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce in the Asia-Pacific region. It explores the impacts on STEM careers and individual wellbeing and identifies ways organisations and individuals within the STEM system can support gender equity in STEM.

Excerpt from publisher's website. Show less

The Pacific Technical and Vocational Education and Training on Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Adaptation (EU-PacTVET) project aims to enhance Pacific-African, Caribbean and Pacific's (P-ACP) regional and national capacity and technical expertise to respond to climate change adaptation (CCA) and sustainable energy (SE). The project was officially launched in December, 2014 at [Secretariat of the Pacific Community] SPC, Suva, Fiji. The TVET component is to complement the climate change adaption and sustainable energy actions on the ground, and to reinforce the potential for green-growth, including the introduction of systematic, regular and standardised training at technical institutes and colleges throughout the Pacific, where the next generation of tradesmen and women can learn about climate change adaptation techniques, sustainable energy technologies and their applications. This will require a national and regional vision to assess the training needs/gaps and competency standards to respond to the market, assess the capacity of existing TVET institutions to expand their training offer, and finally develop and establish accreditation frameworks, training courses and support facilities within TVET institutions. This synthesis report for the EU-PacTVET project is the result of ongoing collaboration between the project team (SPC and [University of the South Pacific] USP), regional stakeholders, and national stakeholders in the 15 P-ACP countries. Show less

Technical vocational education and training (TVET) in Fiji is undergoing major reforms. This study looks at the new climate of TVET in Fiji where the current government has given the green light to a new platform of TVET initiatives. This includes the newly formed Fiji National University that gives equal status to traditional and new technological professions. At the same time a broad-based secondary school curriculum with both academic and TVET subjects has been introduced. However, community acceptance of reinvented TVET has been very slow. This study is a response to this apparent lack of acceptance from the community. It focuses on the perceptions and attitudes towards TVET of students in junior secondary school. It also examines current discourses expressed about TVET by key stakeholders in the Fijian education system, including pupils, parents, teachers, education officers and the Minister for Education. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used during the fieldwork process to gather data from four case study schools from parts of Fiji, and from education stakeholders. The four theories guiding this study are: Constructivism, Social Reproduction, Post-Colonial Theory and Sociology of Knowledge. This study found that there is a mismatch between growth-oriented labour force needs and skilled capacities gained through education. Furthermore, a significant finding related to the conditions that give rise to the habitus is that inequalities in terms of career opportunities and aspirations are reproduced by the education system especially for children from large, poor families and those who live with relatives. Through efforts to work effectively with ‘grass-roots’ Fijian community members this study developed a new culturally appropriate methodology of ‘veivosaki-yaga’ during the focus group interviews. This study found competing viewpoints between stakeholders and between the different ways various groups of people currently understand TVET. Analysis of this contradictory data produced a discourse hierarchy and classification model which succinctly illustrates how TVET in Fiji is defined and understood differently by different stakeholders. This hierarchal model suggests possible reasons why there has been no consistent support for, and implementation of, TVET in Fiji. While there was consensus among high profile stakeholders that TVET has the potential to help Fiji meet its [Millennium Development Goals] MDGs as well as its other developmental objectives, among ‘grass-roots’ stakeholders there was no such optimism or idealism. In Fiji TVET has a generally negative perception in the community. In part this may be due to the diverse discourses that exist between major stakeholders such as senior government officials, teachers, parents and students. People at the top of the hierarchy associate TVET with highly paid professions and trades, whereas those at the lower levels of the hierarchy consider TVET to be second-class education leading to low status, low wage-earning, labour intensive jobs. Finally this study proposes a name and identity transformation from TVET to CTP, Career Training and Placement, to fulfill the vision and transformative discourse of major stakeholders and to eventually change the perceptions of the community about vocational education. CTP has the potential to be an inclusive innovative program that aligns school subjects with career placement so that there is smoother transition between school and work for students in Fiji. In such a program, school subjects and post-school training formerly viewed negatively as ‘TVET’ take their rightful place in the range of career-oriented study options available to junior secondary pupils and their families.

Published abstract. Show less

A stable and prosperous Pacific Islands region is essential for Australia's security and foreign policy. Australia is investing significant amounts of aid in the development of the region with very mixed results. The economic, demographic, governance, and climatic challenges the Pacific faces will make sustained development of the region even more difficult in the years to come. It is for this reason that Prime Minister Turnbull has committed Australia to a 'step-change' in its engagement with the Pacific built on fresh ideas. One idea that would produce a 'step-change' would be to make it easier for citizens of the Pacific Islands region to work in Australia. This would allow citizens of the region to earn an income far above their potential at home, and considerably improve their living standards. This analysis assesses the impact of two models of such a proposal: one capped and one uncapped. It finds that allowing just one per cent of the Pacific's relatively small population to work in Australia would bring more benefits to the people of the Pacific than what Australia currently gives in aid. Measures would need to be taken to manage risks and costs to Australia; however, these risks should be weighed against the significant benefits it would bring to Pacific Islanders.

Published abstract. Show less

The responsibility of training apprentices was entrusted by the Government to the Fiji National Training Council (FNTC) under the Training Act of 1973. The policy regarding apprenticeships is laid down by the FNTC on recommendation by the Council’s Apprenticeship Training Board.The practical training of apprentices is provided by employers at job sites and the theoretical training is given by the Fiji Institute of Technology and other approved training institutions. This booklet provides information about the FNTC’s Industry Training Boards, service sections and its Levy and Grant schemes. Show less

The workshop on entrepreneurship development for women was held in Bangkok Thailand, from 18-29 September, 1995, sponsored by the Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education, Manila, Philippines and the Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation (DTEC) Bangkok, Thailand in collaboration with Adelaide Institute of TAFE. Delegates attended from Fiji, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Thailand.

The purpose of the workshop was to motivate and train a core group of trainers of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems in the basic concepts and principles as well as the tools and techniques of entrepreneurship development as related to women technicians. This is the country paper for Fiji; see TD/UNEVOC 44.01 for Australian consultant's workshop report; see TD/UNEVOC 44.03 to TD/UNEVOC 44.09 for the other individual country papers. Show less

While the Pacific and Papua New Guinea (PNG) have avoided some of the worst health impacts of the [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of international travel and lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19 have had serious impacts on employment, international labour mobility, and livelihoods across the region. This report details the potential extent of job losses and labour market impacts in the region, while also suggesting how the Pacific may benefit from changing employment trends and other opportunities. Fewer local jobs and sluggishness in new international opportunities are all taking their toll on labour markets in the seven Pacific countries examined in the report (Fiji, Kiribati, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu). Of these, countries that are more reliant on international tourism such as Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa have borne the brunt of these effects, with tourism-related employment dropping by an estimated 64 per cent in Vanuatu and unemployment claims in June 2020 nearly tripling the 2019 total in Fiji. Employment figures in countries where tourism plays a smaller role are also sobering, with job advertisements in PNG dropping by 76 per cent between February and May 2020 as a result of lockdowns and travel restrictions. Flow-on effects to other industries, including retail and food services, together with reductions in commodity prices and remittance inflows, have added to this significant economic hardship across the region.

The report also highlights opportunities to mitigate the economic and employment shocks presented by the pandemic. These include prioritizing retraining and skill development of workers in affected industries, such as tourism, so they can move into sectors that require similar skill sets; promoting digital literacy skills to help Pacific islanders participate in remote working opportunities; and exploring new employment opportunities for low- and semi-skilled Pacific workers in Australia and New Zealand in the long term.

Of particular focus in the report is the need to support skills development and employment services in response to the crisis and as part of the economic recovery. This could include subsidizing the reskilling of workers, support for work-study and apprenticeship schemes, the provision of temporary wage subsidies for the unemployed, and an expansion of international labour mobility opportunities for Pacific Islanders. The latter can be facilitated by efforts to improve the employability of Pacific workers (e.g., through upskilling), reducing the costs associated with cross-border labour migration, and by improved marketing and relationship management with international employers. Recipient countries can also play a role through labour policies.

The report stresses that moderating the employment and livelihoods impacts of COVID-19 across the region requires supportive policy responses from governments. While support to affected populations is a priority, governments could also consider support to businesses, as has been provided in Tonga and PNG; safeguarding cash-flow through tax and import duty relief, as has been undertaken in PNG, Samoa and Solomon Islands; and exploring opportunities for direct cash transfers and social assistance to vulnerable populations.

Edited excerpts from publisher's website. Show less