Summary
This report reviews the impact of Australian Development Scholarships and Australian Regional Development Scholarships in meeting Fiji's human resource needs, and recommends how to improve future development effectiveness of scholarships.
Description
This report assesses the human resources impact of Australian Development Scholarships and Australian Regional Development Scholarships in Fiji at individual, organisational and national levels through surveys and focussed discussions with alumni, their colleagues, peers and supervisors, and with Fiji's human resource managers and planners:
- 98 alumni from a total of 272 graduates from 2000 to 2010 were contacted for the study–the study considered this was a good overall representation of the cohort, although with some bias towards employed graduates located in Fiji (who were more responsive).
- The study concluded that the majority of graduates returned to new or former jobs relevant to their studies, that they used what they learnt in the workplace, and that they stayed in Fiji for two or more years after their scholarship.
- The study includes 14 recommendations to improve development effectiveness and equity of scholarships for Fiji, for example targeting people who cannot easily access scholarship opportunities, and better aligning available fields of study to development priorities and to national and organisational human resource needs.