[Source: Fijian Government / Facebook]

The government is working to address issues facing the local labor market.

Speaking at a budget consultation in Nausori on Monday, Attorney General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says plans are in place to counter the migration of skilled and unskilled workers to overseas markets.

“So there’s a lot of changes happening globally as a result of the pandemic and the war (Russia-Ukraine). So as a government, we have to be mindful of that, we have to have policies around that. These are some of the challenges. A lot of the politicians are going around, they talk about this kind of sophisticated, nuanced approach to the economy, but if you want to run the economy, you have to think about these things.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says there is a demand for skilled labor such as chefs, teachers and health care workers from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

He says Government is looking at alternatives to retain the skilled labor from leaving our shores.