DOWH Training Services Branch – Apprenticeship Training Program ‘Motor Vehicle Mechanics’ (Extension 1 Block 4 Course) Graduation.

Friday 25th November 2022, Training Services Branch held its Apprenticeship Training Program ‘Motor Vehicle Mechanics’ (Extension 1 Block 4 Course) Graduation at the Training Services’ Conference Room. Attended the occasion was Mr John Ame (Executive Director – Governance & Compliance), Mr William Kupe (First Assistant Secretary – Policy Compliance), Mr Anthony Ninzi (a/Assistant Secretary – Training Services Branch), Mr Brian Alois (First Assistant Secretary – Projects Operations Management), Mr Michael Baldry (Organisational Development Advisor – Transport Sector Support Program [TSSP]) and Mr Gilbert Bimundi (Capacity Development Advisor – Transport Sector Support Program [TSSP]) including the graduands, Training Services Officers and others.

There are total of 18 graduands that graduated on that day attaining Motor Vehicle Mechanics Extension 1 certificate. They were thought/trained in the Department for 2 months that is 8 weeks. All of them are under the sponsorship of their respective employers/organizations. 

In an interview with Mr Mark Foiku – a/Senior Coordinator – Apprenticeship Training Program (ATP) who coordinates internal and external programs, gave a brief explanation about the program;

• Internal Program – Training Services Branch recruits their own apprentices and trained them for 4 years and after 4 years, National Apprenticeship Trade Testing Board (NATTB) certify them as tradesman or tradeswoman and it is up to the Department to retain them or let them go out on the workforce in other organizations.
• External Program - DOWH TS Branch running and facilitating the program for NATTB. NATTB deal with the whole apprenticeship program for the country under the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations. They are outsourcing this to organizations which have reputation in training and DOWH happens to have the highest quality training in Papua New Guinea. 

The Apprentice Program has 3 levels or extension but DOWH’s Training Centre can only facilitate the training of level one due to lack of funding of facilities in the Training Centre; this is the issue or challenge faced by TS Branch. If the Training Centre has all the required facilities fully funded and available, it can facilitate training of apprentices from extensions one to three and NATTB will then certify the apprentices as tradesman or trades woman in the Department. Since there are no proper facilities available at the Training Centre, TS Branch issue certification of extension one only. After certification of extension one, Port Moresby Technical College facilitate extension 2 and 3 because they have the facilities there. After attaining extension 2 and 3 from Port Moresby Technical College, NATTB will give a trade test to the apprentices and if they passed the required cut off mark, they will be certified as tradesman/woman by NATTB.

DOWH Training Services branch have graduated more than 150 internal apprentices. Some of them are out in the provinces working with DOWH and they are taking part in the road project Connect PNG. They are on the road with the machines and trade personals, operators, the road builders, surveyors and engineers as part of their job training within the 4 years before NATTB certify them as tradesman/woman.

DOWH has a very long history in this Apprenticeship Training Program where it dates way back to the pre-independence era. However, in 1997, the Apprenticeship Training Program was shut down due to political related issues but it was approved and revived back in 2009 and recruitment begins in 2010.  When the Apprenticeship Training Program was approved and revived, the Program was meant for DOWH apprentice only however, NATTB saw that DOWH had the facilities, they included their program in DOWH Apprenticeship Training Program. 

In 2019, DOWH won the Apprentice of the Year Award which is the highest award in the country and it is a history for the Department and to make it more significant, the award was won by a female apprentice. That is how good the Department of Works and Highways training program is.