National Vocational Qualifications ‘sets new bar for civil servants’

The Public Service has launched its own qualification in public administration, with the government’s chief training officer, expressing optimism that it would help build management and leadership competence among civil servants at all levels.

The National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Public Sector Administration, is a qualification and standard that sets a competency framework for such human resource management functions as recruitment and performance management.

The NVQ will also be used to define what excellence looks like for every public officer, and promotes the Public Service as an employer of choice, said Fay-Marie Browne, Director of Learning and Development Directorate (LDD), formerly the Training Administration Division in the Ministry of the Public Service.

As the second in an inaugural series of courses opened Wednesday, Browne told the participants that the occupational standard provides them with a blueprint for the execution of work thereby helping them and all public officers to become more competent in their work and the discharge of service.

She said the training, which is being facilitated by the Learning and Development Directorate, presents public officers with a route for appointment, promotion and career planning that is based on their ability to draw on their experience and prove their suitability for a job while taking charge of their careers.

Browne said: “This is just the start of our NVQ journey. I am quite sure our partners at the TVET Council will be seeing a lot more of us particularly as we work to develop other NVQ certifications in occupational areas which are specific and relevant to the work of the Public Service.”

The government’s chief training officer said that to date, her department has gained approval status for delivery of NVQ IN Public Sector Administration/Public Sector Management and gained qualification approval to allow for assessment of candidates. In batches of a dozen officers, it has so far trained Level 2 and Level 3 NVQ, assessors and facilitators in the competency-based education and training methodology.

Browne said: “LDD plans to continue development of the occupational standard. We want to have a fully operational and efficient system in place for offering the NVQ in the PSA Occupational Standard so that we can move forward with offering services in assessing/recognizing evidence of prior learning.

“Prior Learning and Recognition (PLAR) will be particularly useful in those scenarios where an officer has been acting in a post for some time but is deemed ineligible for the job because he or she does not process the required academic qualification. In this scenario, his or her performance report and relevant experience will be part of the solution.”
(AH)