FIJI'S Public Service Commission is on the hunt for retirees to be registered as senior volunteers in government ministries and departments in a bid to address skill shortages in various fields.
Retirees who are degree-holders and trades skilled individuals who fall into this category are required to register their details with the National Employment Centre (NEC) so they can be engaged under the Fiji Volunteer Scheme (FVS).
In a statement, PSC permanent secretary Parmesh Chand said the FVS would allow an individual to be registered as an unemployed graduate trainee volunteer, and a local and regional senior volunteer.
He said under FVS, local volunteers would be eligible for a weekly allowance of $100 - 50 per cent to be paid by FVS and 50 per cent by the host ministry or agency.
He revealed that 10 local volunteers began their work with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health two weeks ago.
"Although the regional deployment of FVS volunteers has yet to begin, the PSC is working towards ensuring that Pacific Island countries experiencing skill shortages in the fields of education, environment, health, agriculture, disaster management and mitigation would be able to recruit volunteers from the FVS database," Mr Chand said.
He said any person who wished to be engaged as a volunteer needed to first register with NEC and could then be identified to be a part of the Fiji Volunteer Scheme program.
He added the commission had already released an expression of interest for FVS volunteer registration.