_{Photo: Launch of the Diploma in Resilience Level 5 and 6 with the Pacific Community team}

Resilience Education to Capture Pacific Stars

The Pacific region is on the frontline of the global climate crisis. The region’s future career pathways must drive towards sustainable, resilient and Pacific owned actions to secure a healthy and prosperous future for young people.

Resilience is not a new term. For generations our forefathers have faced challenging conditions and worked cooperatively to bounce back to normalcy.  One of the greatest resilience gaps currently faced in the Pacific is with younger people who lack traditional knowledge in disaster preparedness. 

To address this gap, a new Diploma in Resilience, a first in the region, has been developed by the Pacific Community (SPC). The diploma addresses gaps in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction and will produce graduates that will provide future leadership in climate resilience. This program will strengthen approaches to resilience and follows the Articulated Certificates Level 2 and 4 in Resilience announced in April this year.  These certificates now provide a pathway for those wishing to pursue further studies in a Diploma Level 5 and 6.

The two courses are designed to meet the needs of the region and have been endorsed through close consultations with regional experts and stakeholders.  The diplomas are 100 percent Pacific grown.

The content fits well in the resilience space as the curriculum aligns with the core needs of a community from forestry, agriculture, water resources, coastal management, fisheries and tourism, and provides the graduates with practical approaches to solutions.   

A graduate will then have the tools to promote engagement and partnership with government and negotiate with stakeholders to allow community action, whilst communicating with leaders at all levels to advance the understanding of disaster risk reduction and building resilience strategies.   

“Our partnerships and collaboration to support growth in resilience education recognises Pacific solutions for Pacific people to spur professionals in climate resilience” stressed Melinda Mathers, PACRES TVET Coordinator. The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change and Resilience (PACRES) project has valued regional organisations and institutions sharing information, results and knowledge about climate action to strengthen the Pacific’s capacity to intervene, mitigate and adapt to climate change. 

The Level 5 and 6 Diplomas in Resilience are the first resilience qualifications at a diploma level that focus on providing the Pacific with graduates who will act as agents for change in their local communities. The regionally endorsed qualifications aim to open new doors for current resilience professionals to advance in their fields and also looks to encourage non-professional volunteers and workers to pursue a career in the region’s resilience sector.