Fiji

Abstract

Fiji is a relatively prosperous state and forms an important center of industry and education in the South Pacific (EU, 2002a). Formerly reliant mainly on sugar production, Fiji has developed a garments manufacturing industry sector (Storey, 2004) and has become an international tourist destination. The tourist industry is growing very rapidly (Waqausa, 2004; Narayan, 2003), creating not only a new labor market (direct and subsidiary sectors), but also new education and training imperatives (Yarrow, Strachan and Krishnamurty, 2000). However, the sugar and garment industries are under threat as the world moves towards full economic integration. The future will see some radical, potential destabilizing shifts in the economic base of Fiji, in the composition of the labor force and in education and training alignments (Chand, 2001). Fiji has already undergone some “de-agrarianization” (Potter and Cooke, 2004). The rate of urban migration is higher than the creation of jobs and thus unemployment is high in the urban areas.