National Training Council
Organizational Structure
Minister's Office
Ministerial Portfolio
Minister for Labour and Employment
Electorate
Okapa District
Party
PANGU Pati
Current: On July 14, 2026, Prime Minister James Marape announced a cabinet reshuffle that saw the appointment of Hon. Saki Soloma as the new Minister for Labour and Employment. He took over the portfolio from Rai Coast MP, Kessy Sawang.
Mr. Soloma was first elected to Parliament in the 2017 Papua New Guinea General Election, representing the Okapa Open electorate under the Pangu Pati. He was re-elected as the Member for Okapa in the 2022 General Election.
During the Marape Government, Mr. Soloma served in several ministerial portfolios. He was initially appointed Minister for Defence, overseeing matters relating to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. He was later succeeded in the portfolio by Solan Mirisim.
In November 2020, Mr. Soloma was appointed Minister for Correctional Services, a position he held until December 2020, when he was appointed Minister for Energy. He officially began serving as Minister for Energy in January 2021 and remained in the role until August 2022.
In October 2022, Mr. Soloma was appointed Chairman of the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission, adding to his experience in government and public administration.
Chairman
Secretary – Department of Labour and Industrial Relations (DLIR) and Chairman for NTC
History of National Training Council
There were some Critical Issues regarding training and human resource development at that period of time in our country’s formative years. Some of the issues that gave rise to the need for the development and adoption of the National Training Policy and the subsequent establishment of the National Training Council and its Secretariat were;
- Inadequate and unsuitable training programs
- Lack of professional support by supervisors
- Low productivity
- Unnecessarily slow localization
- Use of inappropriate expensive and irrelevant overseas courses
Constitution of the Council
The Council shall of the following members appointed for their professional input policy development in training areas:
- the Departmental Head of the Department responsible for labour and employment matters or his/her nominee, who shall be Chairman; and
- the Departmental Head of the Department responsible for personal management matters or his/her nominee; and
- the Director of the Somare Institute of Leadership and Governance or his/her nominee; and
- the Departmental Head of the Department responsible for finance and planning matters or his/her nominee; and
- the Chairperson for Higher Education or his nominee; and
- the Departmental Head of the Department responsible for education matters or his/her nominee; and
- the president of the Trade Union Congress of Papua New Guinea or his/her nominee; and
- the president of the Public Employees Association or his/her nominee; and
- the president of the Employers Federation of Papua New Guinea or his/her nominee; and
- a senior executive of the Papua New Guinea Chamber of Commerce; and
- a person to represent the Papua New Guinea Training and Development and Development Society, nominated by the Society: and
- one person to represent church and voluntary organizations; and
- one person to represent the interests of women; and
- the Director
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Council are–
- to foster the comprehensive development of training with regard to the needs and resources of the country; and
- to foster the co-ordination of training institutions so that the most effective use can be made of resources available for training and related purposes; and
- to foster the type of training which ensures increased productivity and capacity building in the work force; and
- to plan and encourage the development of a system of training fitted to the requirements of the country and its peoples; and
- to establish, preserve and improve standards of training throughout the country; and
- to make the benefits of training available as widely as possible; and
- to make the most effective use of resources available for training and related purposes in so far as this can be done by legislative and administrative measures; and
- generally, to augment and support the role and functions of the Commission for Higher Education as specified in the Higher Education Act 1983.
FUNCTION OF THE COUNCIL
The functions of the Council are–
- to be responsible for supervising and managing the implementation of the National Training Policy and for monitoring, reviewing and revising the National Training Policy when necessary; and
- to make recommendations on any issue related to training to the National Executive Council and, where appropriate, to Provincial Governments; and
- to provide guidelines to the National Executive Council, Provincial Governments and the Inservice Training Institutions’ Governing Councils on any issue related to training; and
- to propose to all parties involved in the management of training ways of making training processes more efficient, the dissemination of information more effective and decision making more relevant to the national interest; and
- to set out priorities for the guidance of the State Services and statutory authorities in relation to the provision of people, finance and other resources for training; and
- to make comment on any proposals to be submitted to the National Executive Council on the allocation and sharing of public funds, aid monies and other training resources between national and provincial levels, the public and private sectors and unemployed persons; and
- to formulate and publish guidelines on human resource requirements, localisation and indigenisation issues, training policies and priorities for all sectors of the economy; and
- such other functions as are given to it under this Act or any other law.
Office of the Director
The Director’s Office is directly responsible for setting the strategic direction of
the Secretariat in line with the Council Vision or goals.
The Office will continue to ensure that Committees of the Council are properly
serviced and that their meetings are on schedule and conducted and the decisions
implemented.
That the Council’s overall work plans are efficiently coordinated and implemented
in 2022. The appropriated funds are properly accounted for and quarterly reports
are timely produced and provided to the Council and the Department of Treasury.
Human Resource and Policy Development Branch
This Branch is responsible for implementation of NTC current policies and also
developing new training policies as are determined by the government and the
National Training Council.
The Branch works collaboratively with the Scholarship Liaison Officer to ensure
all scholarships are properly monitored and distributed to all sectors and sub-
sectors.
The major activities of the Branch are to:
(a) service the Overseas Training Priorities Committee
(b) work effectively with donor agencies to ensure all scholarships are equally
distributed.
(c) Consult with Australia Awards for AusAID scholarships.
(d) Consult with other donors and coordinate the Expression of Interest Forms.
(e) liaise closely with DPM and the donors to ensure all public and private
sector applicants for funded scholarships are properly screened and
processed.
(f) Co-ordinate national in-service training seminars and conferences.
(g) Assess the applications for the National Scholarship funds established by the
National Training Council.
(h) Develop the NTC newsletter, both electronic and hard copy.
Private Sector Training and Monitoring (PSTM) Branch
This Branch is responsible for the Companies’ Three-Year Training Plans
(3YTP) as well as the following activities;
(a) Conduct stakeholder workshops on the Three-Year Training Plans
template.
(b) Conduct site inspections for new companies.
(c) Provide regular assessment and monitoring reports to the National
Training Council through the Office of the Director.
(d) Attend to other related matters as directed by the Council.
(e) Participate with State Team regarding MOA’s of major projects in the
country.
Finance and Administration Branch
This Branch is responsible for Finance and Personnel matters of the
Secretariat and the Council.
(a) Responsible for the implementation of the Financial Management Act 2000.
(b) Ensuring that General Orders are fully adhered to.
(c) Assist the Director to prepare annual budget and quarterly financial report.
(d) Consult with the Department of Finance for the monthly warrants.
(e) Coordinate the staff personal emoluments and other matters such as leave etc.
(f) Ensure that NTC Scholarships are paid timely.
(g) Prepare Annual Financial Statement/Assist with Annual Audits of Accounts.
(h) Co-ordinate Staff Training for NTC officers
Contact Information
Tele: 3210604/3230604
National Training Council
P.O.box 1170
Boroko, NCD
Papua New Guinea
Email: info@ntc.gov.pg