The University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Pacific Technical and Further Education (Pacific TAFE), in partnership with USAID, celebrated the achievement of 22 women from the Women in Maritime Association (WIMA) who completed their Certificate IV in Project Management.
The project management skills enabled participants to identify and spearhead projects and improve workplace outputs and productivity levels.
Pacific TAFE Director, Ms Susan Sela, expressed her gratitude to USAID for their commitment to providing the Pacific people with a path to self-reliance and resilience.
She said this is the third women cohort to have graduated from USP with the Certificate IV in Project Management and the first to achieve a 100% pass rate since the Partnership’s inception.
“Through this collaboration, USP Pacific TAFE has delivered the Certificate IV in Project Management qualification in 11 countries, including the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, and Papua New Guinea,” Ms Sela explained.
“In addition, USP Pacific TAFE has delivered four other qualifications in the Pacific through this partnership: Certificate IV in Project Management, Diploma of Project Management, and Certificate IV in Resilience, and, most recently, Certificate IV in Procurement and Supply.”
The Associate President of Women in Maritime (Fiji), Mrs Jane Koi, who recently graduated in the first cohort delivery of the Certificate IV in Project Management in March 2021, was humbled by the learning opportunity provided by USAID.
She applauded the participants’ perseverance, hard work, and dedication, resulting in the 100% success pass rate for all 22 women.
“From structured learning, some ladies have become more confident overall and have gained more status in their circles now that they are qualified. They feel empowered,” she said.
“Topics in Project Management were relevant to the daily work we, at Fiji WIMA, do. This was showcased at periodic community projects with a few select ladies in the programme demonstrating their sound knowledge of the subject.”
USAID Pacific Islands Acting Senior Development Advisor, Patrick Bowers, highlighted the US Government’s continuing commitment to building a climate-resilient Pacific Islands region in a manner that is gender-balanced, socially inclusive and practitioner-led.
“A key focus of USAID’s Climate Ready Project is increasing the capacity of Pacific Island countries to better manage the projects that address environmental resilience, and we are positive about a gender-balanced community of practitioners for Pacific climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction”, he said.
