Changi Airport Singapore

I told you how friendly and attractive Changi airport is - now I can show you the pics ...

Where IS Vanuatu?

...my friend June has just asked ... and then I realised that I should explain. Well, it's in the Pacific, south of Solomon Islands and west of Fiji!

Commonwealth Pacific nations are Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, PNG & Tonga. Fiji used to be a member but they've been suspended following a military coup (in 2006, I think)

So I guess I'll be working in these countries in the coming years - I just been invited to PNG next year. I was last there in 1984!



and then the earth moved

Took a couple of hours off from answering emails and preparing for the workshop tomorrow - so I could go snorkelling. met a nice Kiwi called Mike and his Scots wife (who never told mer her name) who have been here for 15 years. They run Big Blue Scuba.

We went out into the bay to a place called Pango Cove - 6 people were diving - 3 first timers - and I was the only one snorkelling - so I had my own guide - Max. (are all dive masters called Max?) Young bloke, asked me all about my work and was interested to hear about the problem of lack of skills training in his own country. I told him how lucky he is to have a job where he gets training for an international qualification (PADI)

I've just learned - from their website - that you can do PADI qualification by elearning - yay! I've always struggled with learning to dive because I tend to do resort diving with John when we are on holiday - and the lessons are just too short for someone as thick as me! John gets it all first go but I really struggle with calcualating 'bottom times' and working out whether the air in my lungs in expanding or contracting! And if I don't get this stuff right I'm going to DIE! I've always said that the PADI manual is one of the best examples of distance learning I've ever seen - I expect their elearning is pretty good too!

That's why I stick to snorkelling most of the time - still get the views but I don't have to worry about too much about the physics. Except there was a scale 4.5 earth quake while I was in the water this afternoon!!! That was rather different.

Anyway, I saw loads of beautiful coral and tonnes of fishies - parrot fish, angel fish, bright, bright blue starfish as big as a dinner plate and so many more that I have never learned the names of. I try to memorise what they look like so I can check their names when I get back - but never quite manage it. I need to get some underwarter identification cards.

Snorkeling in Vanuatu? - one for the bucket list!

Vocational training in Vanuatu

I am working with the Vanuatu National Training Council - there's only 4 of them but I have to say they are the most efficient group I have ever met! It is a real pleasure to work with them - Sam, Gerald, Emmanuel and Janet. They have arranged my programme so that I have had meetings with all the key TVET and skills development stakeholders in Vanuatu. They pick me up and drive me to all the meetings and make sure I have important stuff like water and SIM cards. VNTC are hosting a workshop for COL which starts on Sunday - to plan pilot programmes to deliver vocational literacy in Samoa, PNG, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. They have me organised right down to the last name badge and workshop folder - great stuff! We are very much in the hands of our partners when we work in Commonwealth countries and usually things are a little haphazard - but not this time :-)

Today we drove around the entire island of Efate to visit the Epule Training Centre. 5 staff, less than 50 students - 4 vocational areas. We got there at 11am and they had already broken for lunch. Unfortunately I think the students spend more time cooking and gardening than in the classroom and workshops. The facilities were better than I expected. The centre is between Onesa and Matarisu. We started in  Port Vila.

Great roads in Vanuatu! great beaches ... great food (but very expensive because of the cost of transport) ... strong tourist industry ... all sort of quietly efficient!

If you ever get the chance to come here ... come!