Using vocational education to provide development solutions in the Pacific: An emphasis on climate change and health

This article reports on the results of the EU PacTVET project, which explored the use of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to provide a better understanding on the development solution for the impact of climate change on human health in the region. It describes the findings of a 2014-2018 project on the use of vocational education to provide development solutions in the Pacific with an emphasis on climate change and health. An exploratory design was used to investigate how vocational education developed solutions for climate change and health in the 15 Pacific – African Caribbean and Pacific (P-ACP) countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Information collected via personal communication with relevant stakeholders, qualitative interviews, documents review, and survey (n=48) of youths and young women in Fiji. Data analysis was performed using thematic analytical strategy and frequency analysis. The study found that vocational education plays a significant role in building the capacity of people to become more sustainable and resilient in their life now and in the future. Also, getting an accredited qualification on health resilience and/or job in the health sector may help them to respond effectively and efficiently in the event of climate change and/or disasters caused by natural hazards. The same factors were explored quantitatively using descriptive analytical strategy, and concluded TVET education, to have a positive influence on climate change and health. As a result, vocational education could provide development solutions for health adaptation in the Pacific. These results indicate global actions for vocational education, that would perfect the course of resilience for these 15 P-ACP in the Pacific and alike in the U.S.