Skilled personnel with blue-collar jobs need more recognition and acknowledgement for their contributions to our economy and given the critical role they needed to be valued, according to Senior Technical Officer – Standards & Engineering at Land Transport Authority (LTA), Razik Sharoof Khan.

Khan said Fiji is privileged to be able to produce technically skilled workers through the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes offered by Fiji National University (FNU) in various sectors of the economy.

“I believe the main basis of Fiji’s economy is dependent on TVET stream graduates. Not everyone can become a chief executive officer or a general manager – we need these technical people for our livelihood,” said Khan.

“Imagine what would happen if we do not have mechanics to go to for vehicle repairs. Fitters, machinists, technicians and other technical careers are underrated in the sense that people do not realise the importance of having such skilled workers in our country while there is a shortage of such personnel in overseas countries,” said Khan.

The Senior Technical Officer commended FNU for producing technically sound graduates.

“Just like any employer, what the industry requires is that any graduate that comes into the organisation should bring with them the discipline and the technical knowledge.”

“Attachés or graduates from FNU know the industry expectations and the good thing is that some of them have so much hands-on experience even before starting a job and that is one of the major things that we require.”

LTA has recently taken six FNU students on attachment as interns and Khan said the organisation will continue to support the development and growth of graduates in the TVET stream.

He urged other industry stakeholders to take on interns and allow them to get the idea of how the industry works before they formally begin their careers.

“When you are working in a technical area, decision making is the most important component because everything becomes binary – either it is a yes or a no. We do not want people to think twice about their decisions and this won’t even help with the individual’s professional development because you start doubting yourself.”

“This is where the industry stakeholders play a critical role by giving the interns the opportunity and the environment to become confident and technically sound workers,” Khan added.