The new Tonga Village Network Upgrade Project will not only upgrade power distribution in 17 villages throughout Tongatapu, but it is also creating jobs and industry training for 10 Tongan linesmen.

The linesmen have been recruited by Tonga Power Ltd. to undertake training in New Zealand's Line Mechanic Qualification, the first within the industry in Tonga.

A groundbreaking to mark the start of the project was held at Puke village on January 26. The work will include Ha'akame/Ha'alalo, Vaotu'u, Ha'utu/Fahefa, Kala'au, Ha'atafu, Houma, Kolonga, Afa, Niutoua, Haveluliku, Fatumu, Lavengatonga, Ha'asini/Hamula, Nakolo and 'Utulau.

Funded with NZ$5.4 million from the New Zealand Government, the project to be completed in June 2013 is aimed at providing safe and reliable distribution networks to homes and businesses.

New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga, HE Jonathan Austin said, the project would replace power poles, transmission boxes, and reduce losses in the distribution network and save power, while making distribution safer and more reliable and robust in the event of a cyclone. He said the project would help Tonga Power linesmen to upgrade their skills. "Linesmen are in demand in New Zealand too, so this project is also helping Tongans develop skills which will enable them to get good jobs overseas," he said.

The Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano, the Minister of Public Enterprise Hon. Clive Edwards and Tonga Power CEO Peter McGill, Tonga Power Board chairman Carl Sanft and Lord Dalgety attended the groundbreaking.

Training

Jason Newton, the Tonga Village Network Project Manager, told Matangi Tonga Online on January 26, that $250,000 of the NZ grant funding goes to training, which enabled Tonga Power to employ 10 new local recruits for training in the NZ Line Mechanic Qualification. It also provided tools and safety gear for the new trainees. He said the training run by Tonga Power, based at the Tonga Institute of Science and Technology, used New Zealand instructors qualified under the Electricity Standards Industry Training Organisation.

"Our long term goal is to qualify a local Tonga instructor within Tonga Power Ltd. The training takes two years for a Line Mechanic Qualification, and upon successful completion Tonga Power has committed to keep the trainees employed after the completion of the project in 2013."

The Line Mechanic Qualification is recognized in New Zealand and enables registration with the NZ Electrical Workers Registration Board. "It gives working opportunities if they choose to move to New Zealand," Jason said.