Newly graduated nurses may have to wait at least two months before being employed in the public health sector.
The delay was clarified by Assistant Health Minister Penioni Ravunawa, while responding to concerns from medical graduates who continue to wait for government postings in Fiji.
Mr Ravunawa said the government continued to use the Open Merit Recruitment and Selection (OMRS) process, which required ministries and departments to follow a series of recruitment procedures before appointments could be made.
The recruitment process includes advertising vacant positions, closing applications, sorting and shortlisting applicants, appointing interview panels, conducting interviews and administering tests for candidates.
Mr Ravunawa said these requirements contributed to the waiting period experienced by graduates seeking employment in the public sector.
“There is a waiting time now, unlike before. When we graduate, we just get straight into the workforce,” he said.
“So there’s a whole lot of process in that. That alone can take at least six to 10 weeks to complete, so it takes about two months.”
Mr Ravunawa said ministries were required to adhere to the OMRS process unless changes were made by the government.
He added that failure to follow the prescribed procedures could be considered misconduct for interview panellists and could affect appointments made through the system.
Applicants who are shortlisted would have already met the minimum qualification requirements for the position.
“And how you perform in an interview will determine the band and the step that you are put in.”
Mr Ravunawa confirmed that unsuccessful applicants had the right to appeal through the OMRS process, provided they did so within the specified timeframe.
