By Mataeliga Pio Sioa
Former educator and newly elected Member of Parliament, Maulolo Mr. Tavita Amosa, is giving jobless youth hope with the appeal for formal training in technical and vocational work skills to be made available to them.
Maulolo made a convincing argument in his maiden speech in the House before the lockdown by highlighting the Samoa Bureau of Statics 2016 survey findings that 51% of the unemployed population is the youth.
His remedial solution is to expand into the villages, the skills learning programme offered under the Technical Vocational Education Training or TVET run by the Samoa Qualification Authority, SQA.
“At the Sagaga College inside my electoral constituency of Sagaga 2, the exam results in the last 5 years showed 80-85 per cent of the children end their education between Year 9-11,” Maulolo disclosed.
“Of those in Year-12-13 only 1 per cent or even less are academically strong enough to continue to tertiary education at the University or Technical level.
“All those students who dropped out of school do so with some knowledge of English, Maths, Science and other courses, but not enough to find jobs.”
The Sagaga No. 2 MP feel for the parents of these children who wonder where all the education they had worked hard to put their children though had gone at seeing them without jobs.
He firmly believes the answer is with the TVET training programmes if they are to be allowed to run in the villages as continuing education for unemployed youth.
The opportunity will not only teach new skills either in carpentry, plumbing, cooking or hospitality, they can also be employed where the demand is needed in and outside Samoa.
Maulolo believes the piece of paper to confirm formal education with the training they went through under a TVET study course they completed is the key to the future of the unemployed youth.
He made particular mention of overseas job offers that are starting to come through under the Regional Seasonal Workers Scheme in New Zealand and Australia.
“Global economic setbacks from the COVID 19 pandemic and climate change are affecting our national economy and employment opportunities like the seasonal workers scheme is what we need.”
To make the TVET scheme work with training centres in the village, Maulolo offered to have SQA set up a pilot project at his Sagaga 2 Electorate alongside the college to start it off.
He also urged more Government backing of SQA efforts to encourage service providers like Don Bosco, APTC and Laumua o Punaoa to run apprenticeship training courses at these village centres.
“If this pilot project works then we can grow it from there to include other villages and the Government funding handout for village developments would fit perfectly with the construction of these skills learning centres.”
Another key issue Maulolo would like to be reviewed in the primary to secondary education levels is for the courses taught in the classrooms to reflect the learning suited for children and their academic abilities.
The MP labored the point that not all children have the academic abilities to go all the way to University education.
“The educational strength for others are more suited to technical or vocational skills so their learning should be directed more towards subjects that will speed up their understanding in that direction.”
Several members in the House including veteran MP Peseta Vaifou who ran a construction company before going into politics echoed the TVET call.
“ These TEVT trainings should be added another level to ensure the students blend in easily with their trained skills for the work to be done.
“Many of the graduates from our technical schools are still not at the skill level to go straight into doing the required work.”
Government is due to respond to member’s calls when they take to the floor to continue the debate on the Supplementary Estimates and other matters of concern raised in the House.