Press Releases

» Japan Provides Grant for Fisheries Training Centre

Embargo: 29th May 2006, 3:00 p.m.

The fishing industry in the Republic of the Kiribati is set to develop further with the construction of new workshops for Kiribati Fisheries Training Centre (FTC). These workshops were funded through a grant of US$93,274.00(A$120,573.00) through Japan’s Official Development Assistance under its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) Programme.

The main activities of the project are to construct and to furnish two workshop buildings within the Fisheries Training Centre to cater for fisheries training programmes. One section of the building will be utilised for practical training for seamanship and the other section will be used for storage of fishing gears and equipment.

The completion of the project will benefit the people of Kiribati through improvement in the competitiveness of the Kiribati seamen which will lead to greater employment opportunities and an increase in incomes for fishermen on foreign and domestic fishing vessels. The training standard of the FTC will also be improved and upgraded to comply with industry standards.

With fisheries being one of the major sectors that provide employment in Kiribati, this project will further contribute towards the economic growth of the country by providing greater employment, and developing a more viable labour force through vocational training and skills acquisition. This in turn will contribute towards the improvement of the living standards of the Kiribati people.

The Government of Japan’s assistance is aimed at assisting the people of Kiribati by providing the necessary infrastructure for the development of skills through vocational training, and to reaffirm Japan’s commitment towards the economic and social growth of its Pacific Island neighbours.