Labasa lass Shania Prasad sees caregiving as a way to provide for her parents in their old age.
Thus, she began her journey from Vanua Levu to the Capital City in March this year to pursue a certificate in age care from the Fiji National University.
During her semester break, she decided to get more hands-on training and enrolled in a two-week basic certificate for caregiving offered by the Prestige Caregivers Academy.
On Friday, she was one of 79 Fijians who graduated from the program.
“This is my dream job to take care of my elderly parents and also give support to them,” the 19-year-old said.
“I decided to do this course because it was within my career choice and I wanted to get more experience in this, so it was just exciting to get more experience.”
She plans to return to Labasa once her studies are over.
Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Rosy Akbar, who officiated at the event, acknowledged the graduates for joining the caregiving field.
She cited the Fiji Census in 2017, which stated Fijians aged 60 plus comprised about 10.6 per cent of the total population.
This equated to almost 93,745 older Fijians. Ms Akbar said there was a need for various forms of caregiving to this segment of the Fijian population – including home based-care.
“Knowledge is powerful, and this training has provided you with the opportunity to learn the basics of caregiving,” she said.
According to Prestige Caregivers Academy director Swati Nair, the program was a two-week course which offered students a basic look into aspects of caregiving.
This included one day of theory learning, while the rest of the course was focused on practical learning.
“We are working with the Fiji Higher Education Commission as of now and developing a new course,” she said.
“I’ve been asked to develop a course which increases the hours and gives some leeway for people to go abroad, we have separate MOUs for people to go abroad.”
