Hazel: UWI training for new local govt jobs

The launch took place at the Centre for Language Learning Auditorium, UWI, St Augustine.

Manning said, “As a consequence of the new career opportunities which will result from the reformed local government system, the Ministry of Local Government is upgrading its monthly staff to be ready to fill these new positions”. She said the course came from a partnership between her Ministry and UWI. Saying the Ministry’s most valuable asset was its staff, she said there could be no reform without staff reform.

However, she noted over 60 percent of the Ministry’s daily-rated staff was unskilled.

She said her Ministry has had 500 staff trained in the United Nation’s Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) Prince 2 Project Management Programme. Further, daily-rated workers underwent the Certification Training Programme run by her Ministry, and the Ministry of Tertiary Education, in areas such as gypsum installation, landscaping and web-page development.

She said the additional duties included monitoring the execution of work by State Enterprises, Statutory Corporations and Public Sector Agencies. Manning said certain full-time local government councillors would head each corporation. “Given the magnitude of the proposed expanded roles of the Corporation, it is envisaged that the executive functions of the corporations cannot be performed on a part-time basis, as exists now. As a result there was justification for a full-time Executive Council whose terms and conditions of employment will be determined by the Salaries Review Commission.”

Each executive council, she said, would be headed by the corporation’s mayor/chairman and secretaries heading each portfolio division. UWI St Augustine Campus principal, Clement Sankat, said the customised course would help to develop a highly skilled cadre of professionals, best able to execute more effective local government policies and programmes.