The recently launched National Skills Gap Assessment (NSGA) Survey has indicated that effective labour market policies and programmes are urgently needed to address supply side challenges of the labour market.

The report identifies 95 different jobs that employers find difficult to fill with locals. These positions cover a wide cross section of industries. In addition, the qualifications required for those positions range from high school graduates, TVET graduates and academia graduates. This is a clear indication of the breadth and depth of the challenges in Fiji’s labour market.

“The institutions that are supposed to be strengthening our labour market are not working together. Most of the efforts of these institutions are fragmented and not coordinated. The Ministry of Employment seem too focused on suppling workers for the Australian and New Zealand labour market while our Education Sector is not able to push out adequate and quality graduates to the labour market”, said Mr Edward Bernard, CEO – Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation (FCEF).

While many jobs remain available, 26.6% of young people are not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET). Many economically active Fijians are choosing not to work, due to the $1.4b in remittance coming into the country. About 11,000 economically active Fijians are registered with the National Employment Center (NEC) seeking foreign employment and cannot work, in Fiji, while on the waiting list.
“When compared to the proportion of growth against local employment, the survey results indicate that the proportion of foreign workers grew by 79% – indicating structural gaps in the ability of local institutions to supply local workers with the right qualifications, skills and behaviours”, highlighted Mr Bernard.

This survey was led by FCEF in partnership with the Fiji Human Resource Institute (FHRI) and the Higher Education Commission Fiji and funded by the Ministry of Finance.  This is Fiji’s first labour demand survey that has been published.
The survey was conducted by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics from November 2025 to February 2026, targeting 410 companies and received a 91% response rate. The number of employers that responded employ 33.4% of the total formal sector. The survey was conducted using three reference years:  31 December 2022, 31 December 2024 and 31 August 2025.

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 For enquiries, contact:
Mrs. Gaylene Kamali Manager Advocacy and Corporate Communication,
Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation
T: +679 331 3188| M: +679 9983098 | E: macc@fcef.com.fj | www.fcef.com.fj