Through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia is the largest bilateral aid donor to Kiribati, and provides about 20 per cent of the state’s total Official Development Assistance.
Last year, a partnership was established between Chisholm Institute, a Victorian vocational education and training provider, and Kiribati Institute of Technology (KIT), a Government of Kiribati owned TVET institute, which runs a range of accredited and non-accredited courses across trade and non-trade industries, to assist skill development and open up pathways to employment.

More recently, in June, Kiribati’s only Certificate III-qualified plumber Tetarae Inatio spent three weeks in Melbourne working closely with Bryan and his team at Chisholm, and undertaking industry visits, including to Reece’s distribution center.
Tetarae is Kiribati Institute of Technology’s Plumbing Lecturer and took part in a Training and Leadership Fellowship at Chisholm alongside the institute’s Accounting Lecturer, Head of School Business and Deputy Director of Quality.
“I have been in the plumbing industry for about five years. We have a lot of people at home who want to become plumbers, but we can only teach 18 students each year. We have lots of applicants so we select the top ones,” she says.
“I learned a lot from the team in Melbourne, especially comparing things with the plumbing industry at home and the teachers we have on the island. The mentors I have been working with are very experienced and I will take these skills and techniques back to teach people in Kiribati”.
Kiribati Institute of Technology currently offers two Certificate II qualifications in Plumbing which cover drainage, metal roofing and cladding.
Kiribati Institute of Technology engages Chisholm Institute as a sub-contractor to act as a final assessor following initial assessment conducted by KIT. These courses are now recognised in Australia and around the world, and also meet the Australian VET Quality Framework standards.
The Australian Government also funds Kiribati Facility, which is operated by Scope Global as appointed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Kiribati Facility in turn operates the Skills for Employment Program at Kiribati Institute of Technology, which offers demand-driven skills training.
Brendan Gould, General Manager Training and Industry Development, says that the partnership complements other international training offered by Australian providers.
“Master Plumbers sees the partnership as a recognition of the quality that the plumbing training program offers.”
Bryan says that his team looks forward to continuing to develop relationships with Tetarae and the team at Kiribati Institute of Technology.