Fiji launches the ultimate graduate scheme in paradise
Grad schemes are traditionally associated with low pay, high pressure and early mornings – a bitter pill for recent graduates more used to getting up at midday than 7am.
But Tourism Fiji is offering one lucky applicant the chance to enrol on what may well be the graduate scheme of a lifetime.
The tourist board’s initiative includes a month-long stay in the island country in June 2018 to “encourage communication, leadership, teamwork and confidence-building”.
The lucky candidate will have the opportunity to partake in adventure sports, meet locals and get involved in Fiji’s conservation efforts, and the placement is aimed at helping hone key skills they can then transfer to the workplace after returning home.
The successful applicant will learn communication skills during their time in Fiji by teaching local children, plus will be encouraged to take part in local rituals and conservation projects, such as planting mangroves and looking after the islands’ native turtle population.
High-adrenaline activities will include hiking, sky diving and rafting; additionally, the successful graduate will have the chance to train with Fiji’s famous Rugby Sevens team, which came third in the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens.
To enter the Degree2Fiji programme, students need to make a 30-second video describing a passion of theirs, before uploading it onto Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #Degree2Fiji.
According to the scheme’s website, there are a few other criteria applicants will need to meet.
They must be UK based and should tell Tourism Fiji (in their video) which subjects they’ve studied or are studying and where.
Candidates must also be in their last year of study or have not yet entered full-time employment if they’ve already graduated.
Fiji was hit by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in January 2017, but after initial fears, warnings of a tsunami were lifted by authorities.
Tourism makes up a huge part of Fiji’s economy, and the tourist board will be looking for a social media-savvy candidate who will showcase the island country’s natural beauty, white sandy beaches and almost year-round tropical weather.
The vast majority of foreign visitors to Fiji are from Australia, though the country also receives thousands of tourists annually from countries including New Zealand, the US, China, the UK and Canada.
