The Fijian government will provide 1,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships to citizens as part of efforts to expand digital skills and participation in the country’s growing digital economy.
The scholarships were announced jointly by the Ministry of Policing and Communications and the Ministry of Industries, Commerce and Business Development during a meeting hosted by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Industries, Commerce and Business Development Manoa Kamikamica, Minister for Policing and Communications Ioane Naivalurua, and Google Director of Submarine Product and Service Innovation Shirshendu Bhattacharya.
The program supports the upskilling targets of Fiji’s National Digital Strategy, particularly its focus on digital inclusion and empowerment.
Google Career Certificates provide flexible, job-ready training in high-growth fields including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analytics, IT support, project management and UX design. The courses do not require a prior degree or professional experience.
The government said the training is intended to help Fijians develop practical skills for technology-related employment, entrepreneurship and the modernization of local industries.
700 scholarships for public, civil servants
Of the 1,000 scholarships, 700 will be administered through the Digital Government Transformation Office under the Ministry of Policing and Communications.
The first tranche of 500 scholarships will comprise 300 scholarships for the public for individual skills development and 200 scholarships for civil servants.
A second tranche of 200 scholarships will be administered after the successful completion of the first tranche.
The remaining 300 scholarships will be administered by the Ministry of Industries, Commerce and Business Development and will be dedicated to upskilling micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) and cooperative owners and their employees.
The government said the initiative will expand access to structured digital literacy and job-ready skills while supporting broader participation in the digital economy.
Fiji also recognized Google’s ongoing investments in the country, including subsea cable infrastructure and the development of a Google ICT facility, and said it looked forward to continued cooperation.
The two ministries are expected to announce the application criteria, guidelines and timelines for the scholarships in the coming weeks.
