Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the Fijian people today are more skilled and more educated than ever before.

Bainimarama highlighted this at the Fiji-Canada Business Forum Dinner.

He says Fiji made investments of its own and investments directly back into the Fijian people.

Bainimarama says while Fiji is always been blessed with a committed, hard-working and English-speaking workforce, for far too long many young people were being left outside the fold of development and were unable to realise their full potential.

The Prime Minister says that is no longer the case, as government has introduced free schooling for all students in Fiji for the first time ever.

He says today, tens of thousands of our young people are no longer trapped in a cycle of poverty because their parents could not afford their education.

Bainimarama adds instead, they are free to advance in our education system as far as their abilities can carry them, where it does not only apply to the primary and secondary levels but a far greater opportunity to pursue higher education as well.

He says these young, ambitious Fijians are hungry for greater opportunity, and they are part of a workforce that is more than capable of building their businesses and taking products throughout the region and the rest of the world.

Bainimarama says unfortunately, Fiji's potential was shackled for decades because we lacked the political will for action and a vision for progress.