Riya Bhagwan 
[Photo: FILE]
Fiji does not have a labour shortage; it has a worker retention problem.
Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board Member Dr Ahmed Shakeel Shariff pointed this out and said that businesses must look at why employees are leaving instead of blaming a lack of workers.
Dr Shariff argues that years of failing to adapt, innovate, and support employees have contributed to rising attrition rates.
He believes Fiji has been reactive rather than proactive in responding to workforce changes.
“I think we have been very reactive to the market. We haven’t been proactive. We have not been innovative. We have not been supportive of our employees. What platforms have we provided to prevent attrition rates so far? We have lost medical personnel. They’re not easy to make. It takes six years to graduate a doctor, two years internship, and they fly away.”
He points to many Fijians continuing to demonstrate their ability to work by taking up employment opportunities overseas.
This, he says, raises questions about why workers who leave Fiji can perform abroad while local industries continue facing shortages.
“We are saying that we are becoming a good exporter of labour, too, but we’re importing a lot larger numbers, and we’re saying that our people are not working, but they work abroad. Something is not right locally, and we need to redefine that.”
Dr Shariff says more needs to be done to understand why people leave local employment opportunities, despite the country’s need for workers.
The 2023-2024 Employment and Unemployment Survey recorded an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent, with 18,073 people classified as unemployed.
