USP student looks beyond qualification to gain work experience
Joana Biulailai says internships and holiday jobs can help students gain practical experience before graduation.
Thursday 08 October 2026 | 14:30
Updated 08 October 2026 | 16:22 FJT
Joana Biulailai during the University of the South Pacific Careers Fair 2026 at the USP in Laucala Bay, Suva on October 8, 2026.
Photo: Lavenia Waqanivanua
For 19-year-old University of the South Pacific student Joana Biulailai, finding an internship is not just about securing a job during the holidays, it is about gaining the experience she needs before stepping into the workforce.
The second-year Bachelor of Commerce student at the University of the South Pacific, who is majoring in Accounting and Economics, attended the USP Careers Fair 2026 looking for opportunities to gain hands-on experience in her field before she graduates.
Ms Biulailai, who is from Nukunuku, Lakeba in Lau, with maternal links to Nasukamai, Nalawa, Ra, said the careers fair gave her an opportunity to approach companies such as BSP, Bank of Life, KPMG and others offering internships and holiday employment.
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“I want to get some experience, hands-on experience, because next year when I’ll be graduating, that is what I will be doing,” she said.
For Joana, gaining practical experience now is important because she wants to understand what awaits her in the accounting and economics fields before entering full-time employment.
She said her interest in holiday and internship opportunities was also encouraged by conversations with her brother, who a professor at the university and her sister-in- Law who is working at the HFC Bank, as she looks for ways to build her experience outside the classroom.
“I was asking them if there were intern jobs, holiday jobs, so that I can get hands-on experience since ,” she said.
Ms Biulailai encourage other USP students to make use of opportunities such as the careers fair instead of waiting until graduation to start thinking about employment.
Her message to students is simple, take the opportunity to explore what is available and ask questions about jobs and internships related to their programmes.
“Come down to the student car park and look around, look at the programme you’re enrolled in and try to ask for job opportunities and employment,” she said.
For Ms Biulailai, the goal is to graduate with more than a qualification she wants to leave university with the practical experience and confidence to know what she is getting into when she enters the workforce.
