Oceania Education and Technology Solutions Founder, Group CEO, and Managing Director Hasmukh Lal. [Photo: SUPPLIED]

Fiji’s apprenticeship scheme needs an urgent review, as concerns grow that the system is no longer delivering skilled and productive workers for the country.

This is according to Oceania Education and Technology Solutions Founder, Group CEO, and Managing Director Hasmukh Lal, who says the once-successful apprenticeship model of the 1980s and 1990s has significantly weakened over the years.

Lal says the decline can be traced back to decisions made in 2009 and 2010, when the interim government merged the Tertiary and Productivity Education Programme into the Fiji National University.

The former TSLS Chief Executive says that while merging the training component itself may not have been an issue, the decision to also place the regulatory and administrative control of the 1 percent levy under FNU has created major challenges.

“The regulatory and the administration of that 1% levy, which got merged into FNU, makes FNU the judge, jury and executor.”

Lal says this setup has stifled productivity development, skills training and the apprenticeship scheme, discouraging industries from investing in workforce development.

“That 1% is divided into three components – 10% for training, 50% for medical levy and 40% for accident compensation. So the very purpose that 1% was established is now defeated because only 10% of that 1% is left for training. It’s a big discouragement to the industry in Fiji in terms of productivity development.”

Lal is urging the coalition government to demonstrate political will by making the administration of the 1 percent levy independent of any training provider and reviewing how the funds are distributed.

He stresses that reviving the fast-track apprenticeship scheme, which was highly effective in producing skilled workers in previous decades, would help address Fiji’s current skills shortages.

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