Australia backs Fiji's ship repair ambitions

Australia will support Fiji's plans to become a regional ship maintenance and repair hub, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced while opening the revamped Vuvale Skills Hub in Suva yesterday.

Mr Albanese and Minister for Public Works, Transport and Meteorological Services Ro Filipe Tuisawau officially opened the facility at Walu Bay.

"I know that Prime Minister Rabuka is ambitious to make Fiji a ship maintenance and repair hub as well for the Pacific, and we discussed that over lunch today (yesterday)," Mr Albanese said.

"We will work with leading Australian training partners to support this."

Mr Albanese said FJ$145 million under the Vuvale Union would fund key building blocks for Fiji's digital transformation through new Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres of excellence in Suva.

Ro Filipe said the upgraded hub would help address a critical skills shortage by producing graduates who were ready for the workforce.

"We have graders in Public Works Department (PWD), but what I know is that the grader has 10 functions, but some of the drivers just know two," he said.

He said many graduates completed their training "not job ready."

Ro Filipe said the model could be replicated in maritime centres, including Ovalau, Lakeba and Labasa, by converting former PWD depots into training and economic hubs.