[File Photo]

Unemployment remains a pressing issue in Fiji, despite the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme yielding $274 million in economic benefits in December last year.

Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh has pledged to confront this challenge by maintaining support for labor mobility programs in Australia and New Zealand.

He sought to reassure Fijians regarding concerns about brain drain, affirming that unskilled individuals are being recruited for overseas employment opportunities through these schemes.

“We are not taking away people with skills and professionals who are employed here to work in these two schemes in Australia and New Zealand. These are people who are unskilled”.

Singh highlighted the government’s focus on targeting and training individuals from rural areas for participation in these programs.