Fiji to Pilot PALM Disability Programme
Fiji is one of the eight countries that will be piloting the inclusion of persons with disability into the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme (PALM).
Minister for Employment, Parveen Bala, revealed the dedication of Fijians workers in Australia opened the opportunity for more Fijians to be employed under the scheme.
“Through this programme, we are able to allow our Fijian Women to contribute to their livelihoods, their families, their communities and in whole the economy of our beloved Fiji,” he told the latest batch of PALM workers on Friday.
“The PALM Scheme has something called the “GEDSI” or Gender Equality & Disability Social Inclusion, which ensures that our women are equally represented in the programme.
“Women are strong and with the will they possess, they will finish the programme and always have their families at heart.”
The Government, in its latest recruitment, will be sending 286 Fijians for work overseas. This is the largest number ever recorded by the National Employment Centre.
“The Fijian Government is thankful for the assistance provided by the Australian Government in the provision of the In-Country Recruitment Database (IRD), that is still a work in progress and with this database fully functional should reduce the amount of paperwork at NEC and hopefully online registration,” he said.
Mr Bala said following the successful piloting phase of the aged-care training with the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC), Fiji was recruiting for the particular field.
“I would like to encourage all our workers who might want to go into the aged care industry, please choose aged care courses that will be recognised by both Fiji and Australia,” he said.
“We must be mindful of certain standards that Australia and New Zealand have,” he said, adding that people must opt for the courses that were more in depth and could take up to six months to complete.
“To you meat workers present here this afternoon, always share your experience of the long wait and the many follow-ups you did with NEC before being selected.”
Mr Bala advised Fijians already under the programme to not take laws into their own hands as there were consequences to face.
He said there were people at NEC that could deal with their grievances should there be any.
“Do good, work hard, listen to your supervisors and follow instructions and do not be swayed by the bright lights and of course, think of your families always.”