Riya Mala 
[File Photo]
The newly released National Skills Gap Assessment Survey reveals that Fijian employers are struggling to fill nearly 95 job roles with local workers, while calling for full access to their training levy funds to upskill and retain staff.
Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation Chief Executive Edward Bernard says businesses prefer investing in local workers through training, re-skilling, internships, and apprenticeships over hiring from abroad.
Bernard adds that despite contributing millions annually through the one percent Fiji National University levy, employers can access only 10 percent of these funds for workforce development.
“Recruiting foreign workers is not the first preference of employers. It is not cheap – recruitment costs, airfares, and bonds alone average $3,000 per worker.”
Between 2019 and 2024, around 4,800 employers contributed an average of $25 million annually but could access only about $2.5 million for training.
Bernard argues that allowing 100 percent access to these levy contributions would help businesses strengthen workplace training, support youth employment, and create opportunities for women and persons with disabilities.
He also called for an independent, employer-led institution to manage the funds and develop workforce programmes.
Led by the FCEF in partnership with the Fiji Human Resource Institute and the Higher Education Commission of Fiji, the survey was funded by the Ministry of Finance.
It was conducted by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics between November 2025 and February 2026, targeting 410 companies with a 91 percent response rate.
