Taking up the Trade Diploma in Office Management programme at the Fiji National University (FNU) has completely changed the course of my life,” said 22-year-old Vika Vilia while reminiscing her student life.
Vilia has since, managed to increase her knowledge in the accounting field, secured a well-paid job and gained more personal confidence than she thought was possible.
“My years at Fiji National University were the best. Not only did I learn from the best academics, but I was also provided with an opportunity to do my internship which gave me a valuable ‘real world’ work experience,” she said.
Currently employed as a Junior Accountant, Vilia recently completed a two-week training at the renowned accounting and financial institution, Pherrus Financial Services in Sydney, Australia.
This makes her the first FNU student to undertake formal training with some of the best business tax accountants in Sydney.
“I am thrilled, overwhelmed and extremely happy to be given this opportunity. To have received training in Australia is a dream come true for me,” the ambitious student said excitedly.
“While I thank my employer Pherrus Financial Services for this chance, I would like to also acknowledge FNU for guiding me towards my career path,” she added.
“It was a great experience altogether, and I am extremely happy that I was able to learn how to prepare and complete the individual tax returns including the business activity statement and company tax return,” she added.
Vilia joined Pherrus Financial Services Fiji as an attaché in her second year of study at FNU.
“I took advantage of the careers fair held at the University. I dropped my application for the role of an attaché. I worked extremely hard and in doing so, I was recognised by the company and received the best attaché of the month for three consecutive months which allowed me to travel to Sydney to broaden my skills,” she said.
Careers Fair is an annual event at FNU which provides a platform where the University showcases its excellent relationship with the industry stakeholders and, allows them to present to the students what they have and what they can offer to students.
“I am pleased to say that FNU has a great rapport with various employers in Fiji. It was through such connections that I was able to get into the workforce,” said Vilia.
Pherrus Financial Services Fiji, Chief Operations Officer Sathish Kumar said his organisation shares a similar vision as FNU and has described FNU attachés as sincere, dedicated and very passionate in learning.
“We at Pherrus want to bring a socio-economic change in Fiji and beyond. We want to be a responsible corporate organisation with a vision of upgrading the skills of the students,” said Kumar.
Pherrus Financial Services has provided internships to at least 23 FNU students till date, out of which eight now have permanent positions with the company.
Vika Vilia.