A Vt15 million project to renovate classrooms for a Vanuatu Institute of Technology campus is underway in Motalava, Banks.

The Ministry of Education and Training is funding the VIT campus, or Flexible Delivery Centre, under the Torba Skills Centre, with the facility being developed at Wongyeskei Primary School on Motalava.

The initiative follows plans developed over previous years to establish a VIT presence in Torba, with the location of the centre previously identified as a key challenge.

Torba Skills Centre Manager Jimmy Kelvine said the campus will help make vocational education more accessible to young people across the province.

“Many young people in Torba are far away from vocational schools. For students who leave school in Years 10, 11 and 12, travelling to Vila for vocational training is not easy because of the cost of air or sea transport, accommodation and pocket money. We want the delivery site to be here so that young people can obtain Certificate 1 and Certificate 2 qualifications in Motalava and reduce many of those costs.”

Torba Provincial Education Officer Filimon Ling said the training programmes offered at the campus will be designed to meet the needs of Torba.

The Torba Skills Centre will facilitate the training, with possible courses including plumbing, building and construction, electrical work, automotive engineering, computing, tourism and hospitality, and business.

Kelvine said the range of courses is expected to expand as more resources become available in the coming years.

Renovation work is continuing this month with local contractors, with hopes that the facility could be completed in time for an official opening before the upcoming Public Service Day.

The total cost of the project is estimated at around Vt15 million.