The Sunday Mail
Public Service Engagement Forum
IF the lives of citizens are to get better and better as the year 2030 approaches, the services that make it easier for the citizens of Zimbabwe to work for better incomes, better health and greater happiness will need to be delivered by people who know what they are doing, and who want to do their best to help the people to improve their livelihoods.
It was for that reason that Government decided to start a training institution that would give public servants the knowledge and skills to do things in a new way that would make it possible for Zimbabwe to reach the goals set by Vision 2030.
That institution is called the Public Service Academy. New laws are being made by Parliament to give the Academy proper shape.
The Public Service Academy is made up of 13 Public Service training institutes located across the country. These institutions, which used to be under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, were transferred to the PSC in line with the new vision of bringing them under one Academy directed by the Commission, which is responsible for recruiting and developing Government’s human capital.
What was the need to establish a Public Service Academy?
There was a general feeling over the years that Government training programmes in Zimbabwe needed to be improved upon. It was felt that the training programmes were fragmented, too general and not at all geared towards addressing the challenges facing Government.
The programmes were also seen as not addressing performance gaps within the public service. For those reasons, it was necessary to approach public service training in a new way, making sure that courses taught to public servants would equip them for the work they would actually do.
Each worker would be given standard training on how to do things in Government, but would also be given the special skills needed in doing the work assigned to him or her.
What the Public Service Academy does
The functions of the Public Service Academy include providing in-service training for the development of personnel in the public service; equipping personnel with good values, attitudes, work habits, skills and management abilities. The Academy will provide opportunities for continuous learning and capacity building to equip public servants to give excellent service to the public.
Expected Benefits from the Public Service Academy
The Academy will offer courses that have a direct relationship with jobs that need to be done to achieve the aims of the National Development Strategy and Vision 2030. Personnel trained by the Academy will be equipped and directed to serve the citizens of Zimbabwe effectively and efficiently, with respect and professionalism, and without asking for or accepting bribes.
Courses on how public servants can help to plan and support economic development in provinces and districts will equip trainees to produce practical results that help Zimbabwe’s citizens to improve their lives.
In the Commission, all work relating to the Academy is done by the Training and Development Department in the office of the Secretary to the Public Service Commission.
The department is headed by the General Manager Training Development and Management, and has four units that are strategically positioned to manage and support activities of the Academy.
The Research and Policy Development Unit is responsible for setting out the guidelines for setting up the Academy, based on what the unit learns from how similar institutions throughout the world are set up.
The Curriculum Development and Assessment/Examinations Unit is responsible for the development and continuous review of courses offered by the Academy and also ensures that qualifications issued at the end of the training programme are of high value.
The Training Programmes and Infrastructure Development Unit is responsible for the development and coordination of training programmes to address performance and skills gaps in the Public Service. The Unit is also responsible for continuous improvement in the quality of buildings and equipment at training the training institutes.
In doing this, the unit works together with Government Ministries like the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Unit is responsible for the monitoring of all training programmes to assess the impact of training programmes for continuous improvement in the quality of training offered.
The Academy has so far developed eight important training courses that will be offered to members of the Public Service through the 13 training institutes of the Academy. Reform-based training programmes, such as Strategic Planning and Integrated Results Based Management (IRBM) have been extended to Government Ministries, Parastatals and Local Authorities through the Academy.
Trainers are being shown new ways to train public servants in line with the Academy’s methods.
Overall, the Public Service Academy is working to develop a team of public servants who are patriotic, whose performance is of a high standard, who practice servant leadership, who are honest and dependable and who are not corrupt.
The Government worker of the New Dispensation must support the growth of Zimbabwe’s economy in a manner that leaves no one behind as demanded by Vision 2030.
The training offered by the Public Service Academy seeks to produce such a worker.
This is part of a series of articles by the Public Service Commission aimed at engaging with and updating the public on matters of public interest that fall within its mandate. For comments, enquiries and questions, please write to [email protected]. For more on the PSC and its programmes, visit www.psc.gov.zw or follow on Facebook Zimbabwe Public Service Commission or Twitter @Public Service Commission Zimbabwe
