Govt aims for vocational centres in every province

The government intends to have one vocational centre in every province, and they are looking at 42 tourism projects valued at $3 billion which will bring in 4,824 rooms.

This has been highlighted by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Viliame Gavoka while responding to the President’s address while opening Parliament.

Gavoka says the Great Council of Chiefs has stressed the importance of having skilled young people and skills that are contextualised for their community’s needs.

The Deputy Prime Minister says the Ministry is working closely with high education institutes to offer relevant Technical Vocational Education Training courses while trying to resolve the legal matters pertaining to the failed technical colleges under the FijiFirst government.

He says in 2023, 32 vocational centres were operational and this year, they will reopen 30 more vocational centres.

The Deputy Prime Minister says following the Education Summit last year, the Denarau Declaration focused on major thematic areas including quality assurance and assessment systems.

Gavoka says the previous government removed scaling of exams, effectively making children severely disadvantaged in comparison to other children globally.

He says the Ministry of Education is working to reverse the decision with the introduction of scaling of examination.

The Deputy Prime Minister also says the schools under the FijiFirst were badly dilapidated and the government quarters are in a sorry state and adds the repair job is huge.

Meanwhile Gavoka says in terms of tourism investment, there are about 627 rooms in the construction stage and a few hundred in the next few years.

He says there are 9 tourism development projects aimed for this year, 3 next year and 4 in 2026.

Gavoka says the medium-term growth outlook is expected to return to the pre-pandemic trend and average at about 3 percent.

He says they will soon be launching the National Sustainable Tourism Framework which will provide a clear policy direction.

Gavoka further says for the first time in Fiji’s history, they expect to welcome 1 million visitors this year.

He says the 2024 outlook for this year for Fiji Airways is expected to grow between 8 and 10 percent compared to 2023.

Gavoka says the Ministry of Aviation is undertaking initial discussions for a master plan for Fiji intended to be rolled out this year.

He adds this will be the first civil aviation master plan established for Fiji and current aviation policy is outdated and will now be reviewed in line with the imminent changes in the industry.