Samoa works closely with its development partners to achieve its shared vision of a highly skilled and empowered Samoan community. In recognition of the importance of strengthening people to people linkages, Samoa’s various development partners remain committed to enhancing and facilitating the transfer of skills, knowledge, and technical assistance through their respective development programmes in alignment with Government’s key priority areas of development.
Samoa’s development partners have channeled their capacity-building and knowledge-sharing efforts into the different sectors that include education, commerce, environment, health, social development, and information technology to name a few. Through the provision of overseas scholarships, short term training for capacity building, volunteer programmes and exchange programmes, key partners have provided crucial assistance in addressing human resource gaps in the workforce.
The Bilateral Relations Division works closely with volunteer agencies to ensure proposed volunteer assignments are in line with Government’s key development priorities and the need for specific skills and expertise is met, particularly if the specialized skills cannot be provided locally. Part of the volunteer program requires training of the local staff to ensure a transfer of knowledge and skills for long term sustainability once the volunteer concludes his/her assignment.
The Division also assists in the facilitation of Government clearances and permits for volunteers to reside and work in Samoa.
Australia Volunteers for International Development (AVID)
AVID volunteers have been assisting Samoans since the 1970s. They have contributed to capacity building in numerous areas namely health, water and sanitation, information technology, finance, disabilities, legal framework and policy development, and business development. AVID’s duration of volunteer assignments varies from 3-24 months.
The Program Manager for AVID Samoa is Ms. Patricia Netzler-Lagaaia. The AVID Country Office is located at the Meredith Building in Tamaligi.
Chinese Volunteers
Chinese volunteers have been serving in Samoa since the 1980s. They work in a variety of areas including education, health, agriculture, infrastructure development and sports. The duration of volunteer assignments are normally between 6 months to 3 years depending on the need for specific skills and expertise.
The volunteer program is facilitated by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China which is located in Vailima. The Embassy’s contact number is (+685) 22474.
Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Program (JOCV)
JICA’s volunteer program has been operating in Samoa since 1972. For almost 50 years, Japanese volunteers have contributed significantly to Samoa’s education and health sectors, infrastructural development, environment and climate change. The duration for all JICA volunteer assignments is 2 years. The JOCV program now incorporates the Japanese Expert Scheme and Senior Volunteer program.
The program is facilitated by the JICA Office which is located at the SNPF Plaza in Apia. The office contact number is (685) 22572.
US Peace Corps Volunteer Program
The Peace Corps volunteer program has been active in Samoa since 1962. For about 58 years, the Peace Corp program has recruited approximately 1900 volunteers to work in Samoa. Volunteers have provided services in the education sector as the program continues to emphasize the importance of improving English literacy and numeracy in Samoa. However, volunteers have also worked in community development, health and environment sectors. All volunteer assignments are 2 years.
The Country Director for US Peace Corps in Samoa is Ms. Gini Wilderson. The Peace Corps Office is located at Motootua and the office contact number is (+685) 22345.
Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA)
VSA’s association with Samoa spans 57 years with its first volunteer taking up an assignment in Apia in 1963. New Zealand volunteers recruited under the VSA program have worked predominantly in the commerce, environment, education, health, tourism and community development sectors. The duration of volunteer assignments varies from 6-24 months.
The Project Manager for VSA is Ms. Lagi Natanielu. The VSA Country Office is located at the Le Sanalele Complex in Apia and the office contact number is (+685) 31420.
UN Volunteers (UNV)
The United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV) is a volunteer facility of the United Nations (UN) that supports sustainable human development across UN member states. The UNV was founded in 1970 by the UN General Assembly and is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and works through UNDP country offices around the world.
UN volunteers were first mobilised in the Pacific region in 1973.
In Samoa, the earliest UN volunteer assignments began as early as September 1976. UN volunteers have served in Samoa in the areas of Health, Education, Social Sciences, Agriculture, Administration, Technology, Engineering etc. So far, more than 200 UN volunteers have served in Samoa through the UN Samoa parish that also includes the neighbouring islands of Niue, Cook Islands and Tokelau. UNV operations in Samoa are administered by the UNDP country Office located within the One UN House compound in Tuanaimato.
Australia: Technical Assistance Facility (TAF)
The Government of Australia has and continues to sponsor Technical Assistance Facilities (TAF) to assist Samoa with technical expertise through the mobilisation of veteran experts to work in- country across the 14 Sectors of the economy. In 2021, Australia supported the Samoa Governance Support Facility and the Education Sector Facility in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
Currently, Australia through its Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is in the process of designing a new Technical Assistance Facility for Samoa with a focus on human development and social inclusion programmes.
Exchange programmes arranged by donor partners have been an effective way to ensure that people from different countries visit each other’s country to strengthen links, better understand each other’s culture and way of life and also to improve foreign relations. Over the recent years, there have been a number of exchange programs mainly from Japan.
Sakura Science and Technology Student /Teacher Exchange Program
The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) funded a total of 18 College students to visit Japan under the Sakura Student /Teacher Exchange Program from 2016 – 2019. The program was designed to nurture College level students dreams of becoming scientists. Students were able to visit campuses and laboratories at prestigious universities and also cutting-edge technology institutions.
High School Students Summit on ‘World Tsunami Awareness Day’
The High School Students Summit on ‘World Tsunami Awareness Day’ is an exchange program that was established to create awareness on tsunami with focus on students who will become active future leaders in creating prevention measures against tsunami and any natural disasters.
Samoa-Iwaki City International Exchange Program
Iwaki City in Japan was assigned to host Samoa’s Olympic team and the Manu Samoa Rugby team during the preliminary training camps for each event. As part of their hosting preparations and overarching cultural exchange programme with Samoa, Senior Officials of the Iwaki City Government and students visited Samoa in 2017 and 2019.
Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) – Rugby Exchange Programme
The Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) invited six participants from local Samoan colleges to take part in the Rugby Exchange Programme in Osaka from 2 – 8 October 2019. The main objective of the programme was to promote awareness / interest in the rugby sport ahead of the Rugby World Cup (RWC).
CHINA: Sister-School Exchange Program
The Sister-School Relationship was established between the Huizhou Hualuogeng Secondary School in Guangdong Province of China and Samoa College in 2015. The relationship was to facilitate cultural and educational cooperation between the two countries. Under this program, there were short-term teacher exchanges, trainings, cultural exchange programs, and exchange of courses.
Whilst the administration and operationalisation of overseas scholarship awards now lies with the Public Service Commission, MFAT continues to play an active role in scholarship related policy dialogues with key development partners. The Bilateral Relations Division also provides support to PSC by facilitating scholarship processes where required.
The Government of Samoa attaches great importance to the provision of academic scholarships to its citizens given the significant contribution it makes to the development of Samoa. Scholarships provide the opportunity for individuals to gain knowledge and skills that will assist in the social and economic development of their country and equip them with the relevant qualifications and skill sets to advance their career.
The scholarship opportunities enhance the skills, training and knowledge of individuals and build their capacity to contribute to the sustainable development of key sectors and address critical human resource development areas.
For more information on scholarships and training (eligibility criteria, application forms etc) contact HRD, PSC (hrd@psc.gov.ws)
The Government of Samoa recognizes that human resource development and skilled manpower is critical for any organization and furthermore contributes towards Samoa’s national development efforts. Supporting the professional development of employees, across all sectors of the economy can boost productivity, minimize errors, and ensure that employees develop the necessary skills and knowledge for effective and efficient performance in the workplace.
Development partners offer short term trainings in various fields across all sectors of the economy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), as focal point for overseas technical assistance, acts as a depository for overseas training awards. The Bilateral Relations Division, in close conjunction with PSC, disseminates the awards to relevant stakeholders and communicates the endorsed nominations to respective partner agencies either from Capital or through its overseas based Missions.
The Ministry acknowledges that the main challenge to managing this portfolio is that training opportunities are often provided on an ad-hoc basis which is guided by availability of resources and opportunities granted by overseas donors.
