Mr. Palen Ata, Acting Secretary General/Provincial Planner, MALAMPA Provincial Government.

Lakatoro, Central Malekula.

18th November, 2014.

Dear Sir,

MALAMPA TVET CENTRE MONTHLY REPORT – October 2014

The Malampa TVET Centre is pleased to release this report on inclusive skills development activities

undertaken in partnership with the provincial productive sector stakeholders during the month of October

2014.

The second block of the Poultry Disability Inclusive Training was delivered in Unua. The TVET for Tourism

(TfT) program in Malekula continued with a series of coaching programs and workshops. The TVET Centre

joined forces with the Malampa Provincial Government and the Malampa Provincial Council of Women to

celebrate the grand official opening of the Malampa Handicraft Centre and coordinated with the

Department of Women’s Affairs, a 2-day workshop on economic empowerment before this grand opening,

to celebrate the International Rural Women’s Day.

The Malampa TVET Centre continues to appreciate the strong partnership it has with the Malampa

Provincial Government and stakeholders to support socially-inclusive skills development for sustainable

economic growth.

Yours faithfully,

Kalowie Y. ROBERT. Malampa TVET Centre Manager.

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cc: Johnson TOA, Acting Director, Vocational and Continuing Education.

David LAMBUKLY, CEO, VQA.

Renjo SAMUEL, Chairperson, MALAMPA Provincial Government Training Board.

Anna GIBERT, Team Leader, VTSSP.

Fremden S. YANHAMBATH, Deputy Team Leader, VTSSP.

Peter MORRIS, Technical Director, VTSSP.

Sara WEBB, M&E Specialist, VTSSP.

Nicholas CROSLING, Skills Planning Adviser, VTSSP

Sally Baker, Disability Inclusion Adviser, VTSSP

Christelle THIEFFRY, Senior Program Officer - Education, Australian High Commission.

Joe TIMOTHY, Chief Executive Officer, Vanuatu Agriculture College.

Lonny BONG, Director, Department of Livestock

George BORUGU, Director, Department of Tourism.

Dorresday KENNETH, Director, Department of Women’s Affairs.

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1. Inclusive Accredited Training in Poultry Farming – Block 2

This accredited training in poultry farming was again jointly delivered in Unua, South East Malekula by the Vanuatu Agriculture College (VAC) and the Provincial Livestock Department. Leading into this second block of training, the Provincial Livestock Officer who is working towards affiliation with the VAC was assisted by the TVET Centre to conduct a technical follow-up of the participants who attended the first block of this training. 12 of the original 14 participants proved they were active and implementing their action plans from block 1 and at the same received coaching advice from Livestock Officer Charles Tari. 5 of these 12 participants are people living with disabilities. They were on the pathway to complete the second block of this training to increase their technical competence in formulating organic feed and selecting breeds for improving quality poultry livestock. The TVET Centre is strengthening its efforts to collaborate with training providers and productive sectors to deliver demand-driven trainings that are sensitive and responsive to the learning needs of people living with disabilities. Additionally, collaborative efforts are being strengthened to integrate technical follow up coachings in-between blocked formal trainings, to maximise the impact of this inclusive accredited training in poultry farming.

T e c h n i c a l F o l l o w u p C o a c h i n g

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2 . B u s i n e s s D e v e l o p m e n t S e r v i c e s : T V E T f o r T o u r i s m S e r i e s

The TVET Centre coordinated a series of workshops in conjunction with coaching and mentoring sessions to support the Department of Tourism in Malampa and strengthen the business sustainability of its select cohort of accredited bungalows and tour operators. Industry Experts in the hospitality, tourism and leisure industry hired by the TVET Centre provided professional on-site coaching to support the growth of these businesses operating in Malekula. A workshop on using smartphones for e-marketing and promotions on social media was conducted by the Sanma TVET Centre’s Business Development Services Coordinator Ellis Silas in partnership with TVL’s smartphone specialist, Esther Tasso. A select cohort of 12 participants learnt how to create and use business Facebook and G-mail accounts to upload photos and business profiles for marketing and promoting their products directly to mass customers, domestically and overseas. Another workshop on internet marketing followed the workshop on using smartphones, with the complementary aim of enabling the participants to diversify their business marketing and promotion strategies by using the Trip Advisor website. The participants learnt how to access the website, register their businesses and post business details and comments on the Trip Advisor. They were also shown and understood some of its key features such as tourist feedback, comments and the ranking system. And finally, a workshop on island cooking to meet international tourist expectations was held for 19 participants representing a select group of DoT accredited bungalows. 23 new recipes were learnt to diversify the menu, particularly value-adding with authentic island seafood recipes. An optional session on understanding the business of selling wine was also conducted by the Department of Tourism, for accredited bungalows who were already in the business of selling wine à la carte, as a means to add value to their menus and generate higher revenues needed to meet costs of sustaining their businesses. During the face to face mentoring and coaching sessions with the select cohort, it was evident that some bungalows and tour operators have diversified their businesses and made material capital investments not only in existing business property improvements but also in other non-current assets, primarily to diversify revenue inflows as well as sustain their businesses as going concerns during low seasons and economic downturns.

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D o T a n d T V E T C e n t r e C o a c h i n g a n d m e n t o r i n g

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2.2 Women’s Economic Empowerment – Malampa Handicraft Centre Business Development

The Malampa Handicraft Centre was jointly opened by the Malampa Provincial Government, the Australian

High Commission and the Malampa Provincial Council of Women, on the 16th of October, to celebrate the

International Rural Women’s Day for 2014. Over 100 suppliers of handicrafts from Malekula, Ambrym and

Paama displayed their products and sales exceeded VT50,000 inside the building that has been erected on

land given by the Malampa Provincial Government and funded by the Australian High Commission Direct

Aid Program and built by a cohort of uncertified construction workers including some young women

building towards achieving a full accredited qualification coordinated by the TVET Centre. The TVET Centre

continues to support the Malampa Handicraft Centre with its business development in line with its plans

and objectives to support rural women’s economic empowerment and poverty alleviation. The TVET

Centre continues to foster partnerships with key stakeholders to promote gender equality as an economic

imperative benefitting the wider community and was privileged to join these organizations in celebrating

the day that is recognized internationally to support the critical role and contribution of indigenous rural

women in economic development and alleviation of poverty.

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The Malampa Handicraft Centre (MHC) in partnership with the TVET Centre delivered a presentation in line

with the theme of the celebration of the International Rural Women’s Day “Linking Skills, Product and

Market” during a 2-day workshop that was jointly organized by the TVET Centre and the Department of

Women’s Affair. 40 business women and women leaders attended the workshop to hear presentations

from a coalition of partner organizations working towards women’s economic empowerment, such as Care

International, Vanuatu National Council of Women, Activ, National Bank of Vanuatu and Department of Co-

operatives. They were also inspired by Assunda Roy, a successful business woman who became

economically empowered after attending TVET Centre-funded trainings and coaching.