Employers should differentiate between University and Vocational graduates to make use of their strengths – USP

Employers should be able to differentiate between university and vocational graduates to make use of their strengths. University of the South Pacific Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Jito Vanualailai highlighted this during Dialogue Fiji’s panel discussion on addressing quality in Fiji’s Tertiary Education at Tanoa Plaza in Suva.

Professor Vanualailai says tertiary education is about critical thinking, problem-solving and a deep understanding of theoretical concepts while vocational education is about training more focused on specific skills and immediate job readiness.

He says every day they have hammered to improve their academic standards for the past 30 years and align with the needs of society.

Professor Vanualailai says the question comes to why is there a perceived decline in the quality of tertiary education in Fiji, and this is because of the expectations of the employer.

He further says that some employers expect new graduates to jump straight into a specific project contributing to the project from day one without requiring additional training or adjustment time.

The professor adds that it is crucial to enhance the integration of more practical experiences, such as internship and cooperative education programs into the university curriculum to give students hands-on experience and help bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

Meanwhile, he also highlighted that 50,000 of our graduates have left Fiji for better employment and are employed by other countries in the world.