Quality education enables economic development and access to skilled employment
Quality education is a key driver for the development of Pacific countries, and enables access to skilled employment for Pacific people, nationally and regionally.
Qualifications frameworks and the quality assurance systems that support them are structures that can ensure that learning is relevant, and Pacific graduates are equipped with the skills they need to thrive in employment, in both national communities and the global economy.
In the Pacific, national and regional qualifications systems need support and further development to enable access to relevant, quality-assured qualifications that support national economic development and can also be recognised in other countries.
Benefits of qualifications recognition
Improved recognition of qualifications from the Pacific region would remove a barrier to Pacific people’s employment, by helping governments and employers understand how Pacific peoples’ knowledge and skills – such as those recognised by the Pacific Qualifications Framework - compare with graduates of their own country’s education system.
To be able to recognise Pacific qualifications, other countries need trust and confidence in the quality of the education in Pacific qualifications systems, supported by strong quality assurance systems regionally and nationally.
The Pacific Qualifications Recognition Project: strengthening the Pacific Qualifications Framework and Pacific national qualifications systems
In response to these challenges, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) is funding the Pacific Qualifications Recognition Project that aims to strengthen the Pacific Qualifications Framework and national qualifications frameworks and systems so Pacific qualifications can be more widely recognised, enabling the movement of learners and skilled workers.
Strengthening the Pacific Qualifications Framework will support higher quality education across the Pacific region and increase opportunities for Pacific people.
The five-year project is being jointly implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC) in partnership with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).
As part of this work, SPC and NZQA are working closely with the quality assurance agencies and ministries of education of nine Pacific countries that are party to the PACER Plus trade agreement. We are grateful for the support of the
- Cook Islands Ministry of Education,
- Kiribati Ministry of Education,
- Nauru Ministry of Education and Training,
- Niue Department of Education,
- Samoa Qualifications Authority,
- Solomon Islands Tertiary Education and Skills Authority,
- Tonga National Qualifications and Accreditation Board,
- Tuvalu Ministry of Education, and
- Vanuatu Qualifications Authority.
SPC-EQAP and the Pacific Qualifications Framework: increasing trust in the quality of Pacific qualifications
In the Pacific, the Pacific Community’s Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP) has the mandate to work across the region in response to Pacific countries’ needs, including in supporting the development and strengthening of national qualifications systems.
As part of this supporting role, SPC-EQAP is also ‘home’ to the Pacific Qualifications Framework (PQF), a regional qualifications framework that aims to build trust in qualifications from the Pacific region, create transparency around quality assurance in the Pacific national and regional education systems, and support the ‘recognition’ of Pacific qualifications within and outside of the Pacific region.
SPC-EQAP’s work in support of the Pacific Qualifications Framework complements its role as a leading agency and source of knowledge and expertise in education in the Pacific region, and its work with national education and quality assurance agencies in Pacific countries.
The project work: approach and benefits
Over the five years of the project 2024-2028, SPC-EQAP and NZQA will work closely with our Pacific national agency colleagues to establish strong, trusted relationships between the Pacific Qualifications Framework and Pacific and New Zealand national qualifications frameworks and systems.
We will also build regional and national capacity in application of international best practice standards in qualifications design and development, quality assurance, and qualifications recognition.
Through this work we aim to support the strengthening of Pacific national qualifications and quality assurance systems, and to build the capacity of the people and organisations who carry out crucial quality assurance work across the region.
We also aim to strengthen the Pacific Qualifications Framework and its supporting structures and processes, so the regional system for qualifications and quality assurance can be of even greater benefit to the Pacific region.
This will, in time, enable new opportunities for Pacific communities as the quality of education delivery in post-secondary education in the Pacific region increases, and Pacific qualifications are able to more readily be recognised within and outside of the Pacific region.