More than 2500 students have graduated with lifelong skills thanks to the 25-year partnership between Fiji National University (FNU) and Technical and Further Education New South Wales (TAFE NSW), says FNU acting vice-chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba.
Speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration at Holiday Inn in Suva on Friday, Prof Nabobo-Baba said Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was the common ideology that brought the two parties together, initially through the Fiji National Training Council (FNTC) in 1998.
She said the success achieved through this partnership enabled it to be continued by the Training and Productivity Authority of Fiji (TPAF), which was FNTC’s successor and was formed in 2002.
In 2010, when the FNU was formed, TPAF was merged with the university and was renamed the National Training and Productivity Centre (NTPC).
“During these major institutional transformations, all the leaders of the preceding and current institutions saw the value of the partnership and the impact it had on the Fijian workforce,” she said.
“The partnership has since grown from strength to strength and will continue to serve the needs of our industry and the employers need to provide an international level of skills and development for their staff.”
Prof Nabobo-Baba said she believed that TVET was more important now than it was 25 years ago.
“Over the 25 years, we have provided Level 3, 4, 5, and 6 certificates and diplomas in over 10 disciplines.
“We have jointly graduated over 2500 students in these areas in the last 25 years, and an additional 75 graduates will join this statistic at our December 2023 graduation ceremony.”
She said FNU was so proud to have achieved this alongside TAFE NSW.
