By ELENA VUCULA | FIJI TIMES  02.11.24

THERE is no existing national human resources plan for Fiji, says Pacific Polytech chairman Dr Ganesh Chand.

He told the Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry annual business forum there was no ministry or even a desk in government which dealt with skills development.

Mr Chand said there should be a separate government ministry for skills development and labour and a minister appointed to specifically take charge of it.

“There is no national HR plan,” said Dr Chand.

“I’ve been asking the Government to develop a national HR plan from 2008 when I had joined the Fiji Institute of Technology (FIT) at that time.

“They will say yes and get consultants from abroad who come and give us general statements without going into the details.

“There is no ministry or even a desk in the Government which owns skills development.

“If you want to talk to someone in the Government on skill development, how many electricians should we produce, how much investment should be on training, for instance, for the mining sector people. There is no evidence.”

Mr Chand said there was no accountable office on skills development in the Government.

“But despite that we need to continue thinking, continue talking and planning.

“If we need 8000 new heads on skills development, then the questions are what the cost of training is and the investment that is required.

“Who will pay for this? What is the role of industry employers and other countries?

“We often get confused when we say we need skilled workers, we don’t understand that there are various categories of skilled workers.

“At the very basics is craft, then we have vocational, then trades and then we have technical and then professional.

“It is important that we understand the difference between these categories.”