As Fiji is faced with a shortage of skilled and professional labour due to labour migration and mobility, the Fiji government through the Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, is collaborating with the Fiji National University and the Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Service for the provision of 400 apprenticeship grants to mitigate the issue of labour shortage.
While speaking at the first employer’s consultation meeting for the apprenticeship grants, Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Agni Deo Singh says the Ministry is committed to assisting the apprenticeship scheme as the government is aware of the impact of labour migration.
He says labour mobility will always happen however, we have to mitigate it by training and by retaining whereby they now have scholarships for skills training that are being provided and are being portioned according to the needs.
Singh says the apprenticeship incentive in the current budget is topping up the minimum wage by $2 per hour and the other option is to pay 50% of the tuition fees.
TSLS Chief Executive Officer, Hasmukh Lal, says the success of apprenticeship prevalent in the 80s and 90s was compelling to reevaluate incentives for employers and students to join the schemes to mitigate labour shortages and to grow an economy, we need people in the workforce.
National Training and Productivity Centre Manager National Apprenticeship and Trade Test, Alvin Lal says the provision of the grants would strengthen the technical and vocational education and training sector in Fiji.
He says these provisions of apprenticeship grants will see a further increase in our TVET programmes, and for apprenticeship which will directly benefit employers and students.
The 400 apprenticeship grants are allocated in the current national budget and will be rolled out in January 2024 which is the first allocation of grants provided by the coalition government through TSLS and FNU’s NTPC.
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