Foreign skilled employees needed for Fiji to boost economy: Minister

Fiji said it will reform its Immigration Department to allow skilled workers from other countries to fill job vacancies in the Pacific island country.

Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration,  Pio Tikoduadua on Thursday said Fiji is now at the point where the lack of available skills in critical areas threatened the country’s economic growth.

He said some of the most dynamic economies in the world such as the United States, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates got their skills from other countries, and Fiji needed to do the same, Fijivillage news website reported.

According to the minister, Fiji do not have enough construction workers, mechanics and machine operators, and the immigration policy must adapt to the challenges.

Tikoduadua said the government would put forward in a matter of weeks, several simple process changes which would significantly cut the workloads of the Immigration Department staff and improve turnaround times on permit applications.

Documentary requirements would be reduced, and payment as well as certification processes sped up, he said.

The minister added that immigration officials would follow the lead of other countries hunting for scarce skills and identify priority skills sectors for which documentary requirements would be minimized. (Xinhua/NAN)