[Source: LinkedIn]

Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Service Chief Executive Hasmukh Lal says that employers with proper facilities now have the opportunity to register with the Higher Education Commission of Fiji to provide TVET courses.

Three hundred students will receive training from HECF-accredited employers in skill qualifications, including Certificate III, Certificate IV, and Diploma-level courses.

Lal says this initiative aims to address employer concerns about quality and meet the demand for TVET graduates in our workforce.

“This is going to reduce the complaint because we have got, I think, the providers and the industry, you know, they’re at the loggerhead in terms of the quality. And if the industry is training themselves, then surely there’ll be no question on quality because they are the training provider of their own people.”

Further to this, Lal says thirty TSLS-sponsored graduates are eligible to apply for a grant and undergo training with the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation.

“They will provide you A to Z of starting a business, running a business, and sustaining a business. They’ll also connect those who will be successful with their product development to the commercial banks for your funding and any form of other assistance that is required to sustain your business.”

These scholarship and grant policies have been enhanced by TSLS to help graduates become job creators.

For the micro qualification grant, unemployed youths, adults, and early school dropouts can take part in 150-160 hours of competency-based training after which they can obtain some form of employment.

The sectors include construction, tourism & hospitality and Automotive.

The two new categories added to this include white good repair and existing small business owners.

Round one applications for the micro-qualification grant will open on September 13 and close on the 27.