Rigieta Lord (right) at the Fiji National University’s (FNU) TVET Forum.
Rigieta Lord will implement strategies learnt at the Fiji National University’s (FNU) TVET Forum in the Marshall Islands.
Lord was just not a regular participant at the forum. She travelled over 2000km from the Marshall Islands, with her husband, John Mar, to be a part of the national forum organised by FNU’s TVET Pasifika.
Lord, who is the Dean of Workforce, Adult and Vocational Education Services at the College of Marshall Islands, said the National TVET Forum served both as professional and personal development for her.
“The National TVET Forum provided me with information on best practices, the sessions were interactive and discussions on strategic partnerships with industries and stakeholders were beneficial,” she said.
“I will be using some of the best practices shared during this event when I return to the Marshall Islands. To ensure that misconceptions towards TVET are addressed, marketing and empowerment of students should begin from the elementary level, developing policies and strategies to partner with the industries to provide real-life work experiences for our students.”
Lord, who was born and bred in Lautoka, was grateful to interact in person with the FNU trainers post-pandemic.
“Through this forum, I was able to meet face-to-face with the FNU-NTPC trainers who had been providing training for the Marshallese youths and school graduates via Zoom over the last three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” she highlighted.
“These trainers have really helped us at the College of the Marshall Islands by training these youths to acquire relevant TVET skills to attain suitable employment to help their families and their country,” she said.
“The major takeaways for me were the importance of acknowledging the feedback of employers and working together to find suitable solutions, conducting research to ensure that we are providing the relevant skills needed either in the country or in the Pacific, working in synergy and learning from our failures and moving forward.”
“Technology for TVET must be updated as well to ensure that graduates are able to meet the demands and standards in the workplace.
“Most importantly is working towards changing the mindset by embedding TVET into the academic curriculum.”
Over 150 individuals from academic institutions, regional organisations, and the private and public sector participated in the 2023 National TVET Forum at the Fiji National University’s (FNU), Nasinu Campus.
The objective was to explore ways to revive the TVET sector and provide the needed support and mechanisms to achieve this. Participants shared their sector-specific insights, experiences, and recommendations during the Forum.