The number of Fijians working in Australia and New Zealand under their respective seasonal work programs is expected to surpass the one thousand mark.

Employment Minister – Semi Koroilavesau says with the first batch finishing up their contracts, employers have already started recruiting for next year.

“They have been continuously coming here, the employers and farmers have been to Fiji and theirs people already in the pipeline to go, our team is at the moment doing the test for the areas that have been covered, so the employers are continuously coming to Fiji, making their selection, doing their interviews and will be taking people across, we anticipate a higher number this year around about 500 to New Zealand and 1000 to Australia.”

In addition to these numbers, Koroilavesau says that Fijians will also have an opportunity to work in the United States of America on farms in Hawaii and California by the year end.

There are also discussions on tapping into the Canadian market. There are 26 Fijians working Australia and 81 in New Zealand.