VICTORIA, Seychelles — The government has gazetted a new bill establishing a dedicated Careers and Further Education Agency that will centralise the management of government scholarships, career guidance services, and workforce planning functions currently spread across multiple government departments, with the proposed legislation now before the National Assembly for debate and approval. The Careers and Further Education Agency Bill, 2026 is designed to strengthen national human resource development, improve alignment between education and labour market needs, and reduce skills gaps that have long hindered economic growth and graduate employment outcomes in Seychelles.
The creation of this agency matters profoundly for ordinary Seychellois because thousands of students rely on government scholarships each year, and the outcomes of those investments have not always been systematically tracked or optimised. A centralised body with a clear mandate to monitor scholarship recipients, support career transitions, and link training to actual job market needs could mean better returns on public expenditure in education and stronger employment prospects for young Seychellois completing their studies locally and abroad.
Under the bill, the agency will manage all aspects of government scholarships from application processing and monitoring of academic progress to payment of tuition fees, stipends and allowances, and will also enforce bonding obligations and take corrective measures when graduates do not fulfil their service commitments, according to the explanatory statement. A key feature is the requirement for the agency to prepare and publish an annual National Human Resource Outlook Report, to be submitted to the minister responsible for education by June each year, providing a comprehensive overview of education, training and employment trends. The agency will also conduct tracer studies to assess career progression and skills utilisation among scholarship recipients and trainees.
Career guidance in Seychelles has historically been fragmented, with different government departments operating without consistent coordination. The bill defines career development as a planned process that helps individuals understand, plan and manage learning and work over time, and charges the agency with coordinating guidance services across the entire education system, working closely with schools, training institutions, and public and private sector organisations to help students make informed choices about subjects, courses, training and career opportunities.
The proposed agency will be governed by a seven-member Board appointed by the President, including individuals with expertise in tertiary education management, employment and human resource planning, economic development, career guidance, legal affairs and human resource management, with one member required to be a former scholarship recipient. Day-to-day operations will be handled by a chief executive officer appointed by the President for a renewable five-year term. Staff will be considered public servants, and strong confidentiality provisions will protect personal data and sensitive scholarship records, with penalties including fines and possible imprisonment for unauthorised access or misuse of agency information.
Once enacted, the new agency is expected to bring significant improvements to how Seychelles plans and invests in its human resources, with the potential to reduce graduate unemployment and address skills shortages in key economic sectors by ensuring education and training investments are better matched to national development priorities.
