The shortage of qualified seafarers has highlighted a major weakness in Fiji’s workforce planning, with the Government now developing a national human resources strategy to address growing skills shortages.
Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport Ro Filipe Tuisawau said the country needed a long-term workforce development framework to better match education and training with industry demand.
“We really need to look at the overall government human resources strategy,” he said.
Ro Filipe said a review of the civil service was underway and would include a broader assessment of Fiji’s human resource planning, focusing not only on current labour shortages but also future workforce needs.
The review, he said, would examine skills gaps across key industries, the migration of qualified workers overseas and the availability of skilled personnel remaining in Fiji.
He said Government also needed to assess whether schools, universities and technical institutions were producing enough graduates with the right qualifications to meet labour market demands.
“That overall national human resources strategic plan is not there.
“That is a weakness that we need to address moving forward, and we are currently working on that,” he added.
Ro Filipe said the strategy would help reduce shortages in the maritime sector and other trades while ensuring graduates entered the workforce with the skills employers required.
