The Northern Division received a timely boost as the Minister for Education, Heritage & Arts. Premila Kumar launched FNU’s TVET Pasifika programme in Labasa last night.
During the launch the Minister stressed the critical role of the TVET sector in rebuilding the economy post COVID-19. As a result, Minister Kumar explained, the government has given this area of study a high priority by providing 5,000 places for students who wish to study through TSLS.
In addition to this Government is also providing $1M to re-skill individuals who have lost their jobs since the start of the pandemic and $100 per month will be provided to students for industry attachment.
Minister Kumar said “following the two waves of COVID-19 and two major cyclones in the past 20 months, Government revenue has been greatly affected. For a small island nation, such setbacks have impacts of much larger magnitude. TVET education is one of the key drivers that can support the economic transformation which Fiji needs.”
“Investing in TVET is investing in national socio-economic development. TVET holds the key to technological progress, rapid industrialisation, wealth creation and poverty reduction.”
“The growth of the TVET sector is crucial for the country. It will significantly expand human capital base of Fiji. There will be less reliance on specialist labour from foreign countries. It will reduce unemployment and provide the much needed impetus to the MSME sector,” said the Minister.
“Data obtained from Fiji Immigration Department on the number of work permits that have been issued between 2018-2020, for example, shows that 32% of work permits were issued for technical and vocational jobs.
“These include the construction, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, automotive, fishing, IT, food and beverage, mining and agriculture. This demonstrates that the workforce does not have adequate skilled people in these sectors.”
“Industry intelligence for TVET needs to give good data that can be used in national workforce planning. The proposed Skills Council will play an important role in collecting industry intelligence and driving the TVET sector in terms of the labour needs, skills requirement and quality assurance of the TVET programmes, independent of the education providers.”
The presence of the Industry at the launch was an occasion for the industry to engage with FNU in discussions around TVET education.
“Traditionally TVET programmes are taken by students who are academically challenged and who leave school early. If we look at the Singapore example then we should encourage students who complete secondary education to take up TVET education so that TVET is seen by all as a postsecondary programme and not only for school leavers. These days most students complete their secondary education but not all need to go to universities. TVET education needs to be seen as an important alternative, especially if the TVET programmes are appropriately designed,” the Minister added.
“One of the critical skills required in graduates is entrepreneurship. The economy can grow better with more job creators where one job creator creates several jobs. I would like to see entrepreneurial skills embedded in our TVET programmes with industry attachments as much as possible.”
“Also, for a sustainable future of TVET, it is important to rebrand TVET so that it is not perceived as a job that does not pay well. There are many examples of successful businesses that have been created by people who studied TVET programmes and this needs to be shared with students so they can see the economic value of TVET to the nation and for their own prosperity, “she said.
There is a general misconception that TVET education does not provide a good alternative as a profession. However, there is acute shortages of skilled workers nationally and globally that shows the need for graduates in this field and how quickly they will find a job unlike degree holders in certain fields. In addition to this the chances of entrepreneurship resulting from this area of study is far more. This is one reason why the Minister emphasised the need to teach students entrepreneurship in TVET education.
Minister Kumar pleaded with all stakeholders that we should do our best to change parental pressure for their children to pursue academic studies and obtain degrees rather than allowing them to pursue an interest and work on their natural talents.
“We have also seen teaching in schools is more towards preparing students for academic studies. Comments such as if you don’t study what will you do in life - become a carpenter or a farmer? - creates negative perception towards TVET Education.”
TVET Pasifika has been created to streamline all TVET programmes through a central entity to ensure that the programmes are managed through its own framework as these programmes have their own mechanisms of teaching and quality assurance.