Mentored by his father who was a skilled carpenter, Sahil Ashitosh Narayan took a liking to working with tools and slowly began learning the basics of the trade. So after leaving school, Narayan joined the Fiji National University’s (FNU) National Training and Productivity Centre (NTPC) Cabinet Making and Joinery programme.

Narayan graduated in 2019 after completing modules 1 to 17.

“Cabinet making and joinery is all about being creative. It takes a lot of patience and thinking and once the final product is ready you feel a lot of satisfaction,” said Narayan.

Narayan, a Melbourne Works Fiji employee, attributed his motivation and inspiration to his father, who is also a tradesman.

“I used to watch my dad do carpentry and joinery work since I was a small kid and it motivated me to carry on the work that my dad has taught me,” he said.

“The work requires physical strength and intellectual ability especially calculations. I also enjoy operating new tools and learning new techniques of building. We also communicate with other tradespeople and this builds close working relationships and we learn a lot from each other.”

Narayan believes the path to success is filled with challenges and learning patiently is key to excelling in the industry.

“If you are a hands-on person who prefers to work and be creative, this is one of the most exciting career opportunities. There will be new skills to learn with new machines so people need to try to learn as much as they can,” he said.

“NTPC assists individuals in achieving their life objectives and living a prosperous life with a steady career. After completing the qualification, one will be able to obtain a highly recognised qualification from FNU. It also helps workers’ productivity, get promoted at work, and earn higher pay. ”

The programme is intended to equip participants with information and abilities for setting up training, which includes planning, organising, and problem-solving, to set up skills to perform. This course’s competencies are equal to level 3 of the National Qualifications for the Cabinet Making and Joinery trades. A total of 17 modules are available for skill evaluations in the course of cabinetmaking and joinery.

For more information on the course, please contact us via email at info.ntpc@fnu.ac.fj or call us on 2417779.