Fiji Defends PALM Scheme for 1,000s of Workers as Minister Rejects Skills Shortage Blame
Updated
Updated · The Fiji Times · Jun 2
Fiji Defends PALM Scheme for 1,000s of Workers as Minister Rejects Skills Shortage Blame
2 articles · Updated · The Fiji Times · Jun 2
Agni Deo Singh said Fiji’s labour shortages cannot be pinned primarily on the PALM scheme, pushing back on claims that overseas recruitment is draining skilled workers.
The minister said most PALM participants take seasonal and lower-skilled jobs in agriculture, horticulture and meat processing, making it hard to link the programme to shortages of accountants, engineers, electricians and IT technicians.
He argued Fiji’s skills gaps stem from broader pressures including economic growth, stronger demand for qualified staff, global competition for talent, demographic shifts and limits in education and training capacity.
Thousands of Fijian families have benefited from PALM through legal overseas work and remittances, Singh said, especially in rural and maritime communities with fewer local job opportunities.
Fiji should expand technical training, apprenticeships and workforce planning while preserving overseas labour pathways, he said, framing labour mobility and domestic skills development as complementary rather than competing goals.