Apenisa Waqairadovu 
Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Penny Wong
Fiji can expect Australia to boost recruitment in the aged care and child care sectors in this second term of the Labour Government.
Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Penny Wong confirmed this when asked about new initiatives to improve the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme.
Wong says they are a government that places its workforce at the center of its operation, including Pacific people working under the scheme.
She says the need to bring more people from the region to Australia’s care sector is targeted.
“There are two reasons why that is very important. One is that it is a growth area, and I think Pacific Island people bring a great and they have wisdom when it comes to caring, and we value that.”
She also says part of the plan is to upskill Pacific workers while they’re on the job in Australia.
“Part of the pilot that we are doing for both aged care and child care includes Australian training to get them to what we call a certificate three level, so that is an investment in your people. They carry that education wherever they go. We hope that they want to work in Australia, but if they don’t, they have the capacity to take that education elsewhere.”
The PALM scheme is open to nine Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste, with over 5,000 Fijians already on board.
Senator Penny Wong says the scheme will keep evolving to better serve Pacific people and boost local economies.
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