Qualified Pasifika construction workers find experience counts
24 Pacific Islanders will be presented with their carpentry qualifications at Ara at a special graduation ceremony on 23
June.
They are not the only carpenters to be assessed by the Centre for Assessment of Prior Learning (CAPL) at Ara, but they
have certainly travelled the furthest.
The group was invited to Christchurch to assist with the Canterbury rebuild. They will take new skills and
qualifications back home with them to Tonga, Fiji and Samoa.
The project is a partnership between the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Trade, Ara and local Christchurch companies Tradestaff and Adecco. The programme aims to help foster economic
integration in support of sustainable economic development in the Pacific.
CAPL regularly assesses tradespeople who have experience but not a formal qualification to help them use their
professional knowledge and practical skills towards a qualification. Professionals in all fields can apply to CAPL to
have their experience assessed towards academic credits. At CAPL, experience counts.
ends