As our nation battling the loss of skilled workers to overseas countries, the Fijian Government is now focused on improving the processes at the Immigration Department to ease the work permit process and to assist the private sector in getting more workers in Fiji for the needy areas.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Prof. Biman Prasad highlighted this while participating at the 2023 Human Capital Ministerial Conclave plenary session on Friday, 13 October, during the margins of the 2023 Annual meeting for World Bank and IMF held in Marrakech, Morocco.
The Deputy Prime Minister says that migration is a significant issue for Fiji, where in the last 18 months, around 10 per cent of the formal workforce has left our shores to develop neighboring countries.
While raising the question of how can governments leverage the private sector to re-skill and up-skill workers, Professor Prasad says there is significant value in technical, vocational, and enterprise education and training (TVET) programs in schools and tertiary institutions.
He says the TVET program is the modern-day solution towards transforming the Fijian economy to greater heights through the expansion of its human capital by creating an opportunity for skilled workers.
He adds that by rebuilding the technical education system as well as addressing the skills gap issue in the country, the Fijian Government is now going to invest in this and work together with existing service providers, including the newly established Pacific Polytech.
The Deputy Prime Minister says Fiji is also focusing on skills development and training at all levels of Fiji’s educational system and the private sector will be playing an important role in this.
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