Education for employability

Press Release Posted On: August 4, 2021

FNU is committed to producing work-ready graduates.

As a dual-sector tertiary institution, the Fiji National University (FNU) offers both sub-degree technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and a full range of higher education qualifications from bachelor’s degrees to doctorates.

FNU is committed to producing work-ready graduates at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with the skills, knowledge, competencies, aptitudes, and behaviours necessary to succeed in a competitive job market, including by establishing new businesses.

Apart from students succeeding in the labour market, the University also ensures its Levels 1-6 TVET programmes and Levels 5-10 Bachelors to doctoral degrees prepare students to contribute to the economic and social development of the nation.

All study programmes offered at FNU are jointly developed in conjunction with employers and students are required to undertake an ‘industrial attachment’ (internship) as part of the graduating requirements. As a comprehensive University, FNU offers agriculture, business, humanities and education, medicine and nursing and engineering and science programmes.

At the same time, the University’s graduate profiles emphasise critical thinking and problem-solving, to ensure that graduates are prepared to adapt as ‘Industrial Revolution 4.0’ transforms the labour market.

Through the recently launched FNU Strategic Plan 2021-2026, Education for Employability makes up Pillar 1 of 4 key areas the University will focus on in the next five years.

To further achieve its vision of education for employability, FNU has recently launched a new brand, TVET Pasifika, bringing together its full range of courses and training to assist the post-pandemic economic recovery of the Pacific region. The TVET Pasifika brand aligns with the University’s vision to be the leading dual-sector university in the Pacific, and its focus on Education for Employability.

Through TVET Pasifika, FNU offers a full range of TVET qualifications from short courses and apprenticeships to certificates and diplomas which are tailored to support diverse industry sectors relevant to the Pacific region, including agriculture, the marine sector, hospitality and tourism, business and commerce, engineering and technology, education and community care.

TVET Pasifika draws on the collective strength and expertise of FNU’s constituent units, its five academic colleges, the National Training and Productivity Centre, and the Fiji Maritime Academy.

“TVET Pasifika aims to support Fiji and other Pacific island countries to bounce back from the economic impact of COVID-19 by re-skilling and up-skilling their workforces to meet the needs of the new labour market,” FNU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Toby Wilkinson said.

“It is a one-stop-shop where students, employers and partners – local, national and regional – can browse, research and enrol for programmes to boost their employability and fulfil their personal and professional aspirations.”

“TVET Pasifika will have a relentless focus on customer service and responsiveness to the labour market needs. Through active stakeholder engagement and feedback, we will shape our overall portfolio and our courses to meet the needs of students, employers and development partners across the Pacific.”

Prof Wilkinson added that the wide range of courses would offer individuals and organisations opportunities to train, up-skill and re-skill to meet the changing requirements of national and regional labour markets, now and in the future.”

Acting Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor TVET Dr Rohit Kishore said FNU would work closely with Pacific Island countries and tailor-make programmes suitable to their current and future job markets.

“The PICs are developing nations which are low and middle-income countries, with less developed industrial base and low human development index. Investing in the skills development of such nations through TVET programmes thus becomes a critical component of human capital development,” Dr Kishore said.

“The high unemployment is exacerbated by the skills gap that exists in such nations where a number of graduates are channelled out yet without skills that meet the needs of the economy. FNU TVET programmes will fill the skills gaps by providing the much-needed skills and hands-on training required to progress the economic development of Fiji and the other PICs.”

FNU College of Engineering, Science and Technology (CEST), School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Principal Instructor, Salabogi Mavoa highlighted that through its former national institutions such as the Fiji Institute of Technology (FIT), the University has been conducting trainings to address the manpower needs for Fiji and the region.

“FNU will continue to develop and implement quality TVET training in sync with the growing needs of industries,” Mavoa said.

“The University is recognised and acknowledged internationally for the quality of TVET programmes that it offers, in various fields including engineering, hospitality, humanities and agriculture.”

“TVET recognises the experience that one has gained over the years combined with the necessary academic qualifications.  At FNU, we have maintained currency and relevance to the changing needs with new technological advancement combined with the many years of experience to perfect the transfer of skills learnt.”

The FNU Strategic Plan 2021-2026 was launched by FNU Vice-Chancellor Professor Toby Wilkinson and can be viewed online by clicking here.