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Fiji – Foreign employment service to help Fijians find work overseas

25 November 2014

Fiji's Foreign Employment Service (FORES) will select and prepare workers to participate in the first phase of the New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Work Scheme, reports pina.com.fj

FORES was officially launched in July this year to help Fijians find employment overseas. The program has helped Fijians find employment in the UAE, Canada and NZ. An agreement will be signed on 11 December 2014 between Fiji and New Zealand to set out the RSE arrangements.    

A sum of FJD 520,150 (USD 266,061) has been allocated to FORES to facilitate the training of the workers, as well as others expected to take up seasonal work in New Zealand and Australia later in the year.

Finance Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said an estimated 3,000 Fijians are expected to be trained under the programme.

Employment Ministry Permanent Secretary Taito Waqa had said in an interview that the training of workers is part of efforts to ensure and maintain quality in exports, including in labour.

It is likely government will also consider those registered with the National Employment Centre (NEC), when selecting those to take up the seasonal work programme. The NEC has been granted FJD 1 million (USD 500,000) in the 2015 Budget to help unemployed Fijians find jobs, both locally and overseas.

The NEC focuses on providing skills training that makes unemployed persons, retirees, and volunteers more competitive in both local and overseas employment markets. It also offers placement services. Meanwhile, seasonal work for the first batch of 30 workers in New Zealand starts in February 2015.