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Islands Business
Your source for Pacific Islands news!
Fiji opens Pacific digital skills hub, with Australia pledging $28 million
October 26, 2026 _ VILIAME TAWANAKORO and FANE LEDUA _ Artificial Intelligence（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/artificial-intelligence/）, Cybersecurity（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/cybersecurity/）, Digital Skills（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/digital-skills/）, Fiji（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/fiji/）, Technology（https://islandsbusiness.com/tag/technology/） _ News（https://islandsbusiness.com/category/news-break/）,
Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica poses for a group photo after the opening of the new digital skills hub at the University of the South Pacific. Image: FANE LEDUA / Islands Business
FIJI has opened a new digital skills hub at the University of the South Pacific, aiming to train workers in artificial intelligence, networking and cybersecurity as the government seeks to position the country as a digital hub for the wider Pacific.
The facility, a partnership between Cisco, USP and Telecom Fiji, will connect to learning sites in Samoa and Vanuatu, extending its reach beyond the university campus.
Cisco country manager Jessica McFadden said the hub would give students and the wider community hands-on experience with network infrastructure, automated threat detection and collaboration technology.
“It is a bridge between academic potential and real-world opportunity,” McFadden said, adding that the Cisco Network Academy had supported more than 9,500 students in Fiji since its inception.
She said the facility would provide a pathway to industry-recognised certifications and workforce skills.
The opening comes as Fiji faces a gap between expanding digital connectivity and the skills needed to use and protect it.
Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica said digital literacy stood at 48 per cent, while more than 85 per cent of Fijians used the internet. He said the government aimed to extend 5G coverage to half the population by 2030.
Kamikamica said cybersecurity risks, including ransomware, data theft, phishing, scams and business email fraud, were rising across the Pacific, with criminals using artificial intelligence to produce deepfakes and disinformation.
He said Fiji had strengths in its cybercrime legal framework but still faced gaps in awareness, standards and skills.
Fiji’s national strategy.
Kamikamica described the hub as part of Fiji’s national digital and security plans, not simply a new campus facility. He said the government’s strategies ultimately raised the same question: “Do we have the people?”
He said Fiji had established a 24-hour government security operations centre and committed to a regional cybersecurity centre of excellence, while the country competed with overseas employers for skilled workers.