Dear Colleague,

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As Fiji is located just west of the International Dateline I seize the opportunity to be one of the first in 2002 to wish you and those near you the best of health and happiness – and may you find this year the job you’ve always wanted – and – more importantly perhaps - the satisfaction that should come with it!

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Now in its 4^th year, Pacific Vacancies is close to the 1000^th subscriber milestone. The vacancies are directly sent to some 50 countries, including all Pacific Island Countries, although they reach a much larger audience as many subscribers forward them to friends and colleagues, distribute them on local networks, or place them on websites.

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In 2001 the service distributed 175 job ads, which reflects an increase of 70% to those sent out in 2000. ?Since mid-2001 we have started to distribute vacancies from The University of the South Pacific, which is perhaps the single largest regional employer in the Pacific. We are also very pleased to receive increasingly more advertisements from organisations and institutions in the northern Pacific.? Also, we are covering an increasingly wider range of sectors, and have successfully sought to distribute job ads in the health sector in the region.

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It was our intention from the beginning to provide a wider distribution of vacancies in the Pacific region, in particular to those residing in Pacific Island Countries where access to the WWW is suboptimal, and where the conventional means of job advertising have their limitations. Although details are hard to come by, we have been reliably informed recently that most Pacific Island residents that apply for any of the jobs do refer to Pacific Vacancies as their first and main source of information. We are very pleased to see the effect of the service.

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We very much appreciate your support, and look forward to continue Pacific Vacancies in 2002, 2003, and the years thereafter. And of course, and comments and suggestions are very – and always – welcome.

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Cheers!

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Wilco Liebregts

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