Last week, Devpolicy, in collaboration with and at the request of the Solomon Islands High Commission, hosted a roundtable on the participation of Solomon Islanders in Australia’s Seasonal Worker Program.b

Whereas several hundred Solomon Islanders travel to New Zealand every year to participate in its equivalent program, the Recognized Seasonal Employer Scheme, only a handful have made it to Australia.

The new government is keen to change this, and wanted to brainstorm on ways to boost participation. The roundtable was joined by experts from ANU, by senior Australian government officials, and by the World Bank.

Also participating were the Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade of the Solomon Islands, The Hon. Milner Tozaka, who is currently visiting Australia, as well as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, and officials from the country’s Labour Mobility Unit.

 

Source: http://devpolicy.org/