The Samoa Qualifications Authority (SQA) opened its fifth Post School Education and Training (PSET) Annual Conference at the Taumeasina Island Resort on Thursday 25th March 2021.
The Post School Education and Training Strategic Plan 2020-2024 was officially launched at the same conference.
The 2021 Annual Conference theme was; “Improve employability through Sustainable Partnerships between post school education and training and the Workplace.
More than a hundred stakeholders from the government, private sector, international organisations and PSET providers were invited to attend.
The annual gathering of PSET providers and workplaces through this Conference exchanged views and ideas crucial in forming sustainable partnerships to improve the employability of graduates, to support the development of Samoa.
The SQA since its first PSET Conference in 2014 had been promoting quality and relevant education and training. In the 2018 Conference, it shifted focus on building partnerships between the PSET providers and workplaces. As the coordinator of PSET, regulator of qualifications and quality assurer of programmes, SQA wants to assure employers that formal training and study programmes, produce graduates with skills and knowledge that match the needs of their future careers. SQA also wants to assure parents and students, we want our Samoa Qualifications to be recognized both nationally and internationally, for gainful employment and further studies in both Samoa and beyond our shores.
Through this Conference, the SQA is committed to engaging with all stakeholders in an open and constructive dialogue about the continuous rapid changes, increasing complexity of workplace requirements, and Covid-19 pandemic. The ultimate aim is to continue to improve PSET programmes to meet Samoa’s needs, in particular the post Covid-19 period. The ultimate aim is for PSET providers and workplaces, to put in place smart and realistic planning and initiate sustainable partnerships to continue to advance the PSET sub-sector during these critical and turbulent times.
We progressed in how we measured the outcomes of these efforts. In the past, PSET providers and students were measured with graduation ceremonies. Nowadays, they are measured with the number of employable graduates and whether their qualifications, skills and knowledge meet the needs and expectations of the workplace. Simply put, are the skills we are delivering matching the skills that are needed. These place further emphasis on the importance of relevant education and training to employment, and how are we meeting the needs of employers and Samoa’s labour market.
The PSET Strategic Plan 2020-2024 Vision is to be “An inventive sub-sector that sustains the quality, relevance, accessibility and inclusiveness of PSET for all learners in Samoa”. This is the third PSET Strategic Plan, and is closely linked to the priorities of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the next 10 years, Strategy for the Development of Samoa in the next 5 years and the current Education Sector Plan.
The new PSET Strategic Plan has four main Goals identifying a series of innovative directions designed to increase the quality and value of learning for all learners in Samoa. It will enhance access to relevant education and training opportunities, to improve sustainable livelihoods and its contribution to the achievement of national goals.
The Minister acknowledged and congratulated the SQA Board of Directors, Management and Staff, and everyone involved and contributed to the development of the new PSET Strategic Plan with blessings for a successful implementation in the next four years.