"OUR PEOPLE ARE OUR MOST IMPORTANT
RESOURCE"
Enriching the Human Resource
in the Civil Service
The state human resource
development programmes is to enhance competency and transparency amongst
its fraternity. It has long been realised that a competent and ship-shape
workforce is a major contributor to the country's desire to become a developed
nation come the year 2020.
"We are making significant
strides in training the Civil Service," says Datuk Haji Abdul Aziz Haji
Husain. And for the past 4 years, that stride in upgrading the human resource
potential in the Sarawak state Civil Service has certainly been intensified.
Datuk Aziz is the Deputy State Secretary for Human Resource. He took over
the responsibility of the state Civil Service HRD in 1996. "I started by
evaluating the present competency level of the Civil Service, after which,
I could plan on the levels to achieve in the future," he explains when questioned
on the strategies he took to enhance the training process. Currently, there
are a total of 19,000 state civil servants of which approximately 1,000
are of the Grade 3 and above levels. For each level, there are two groups,
the professional and the support groups. Knowledge and job training are
available for the different levels and groups.
The aim of these
human resource development (HRD) efforts is to spearhead the transformation
of the new Civil Service to become one that is more efficient, exemplary
and friendly. In addition to achieving an efficient, exemplary and friendly
Civil Service, there must also be a sense of prede and sense of belonging
in a team. Teamwork is highly desirable in ensuring a greater spirit participation
and involvement in all the HRD programmes. "We want to work cohesively towards
vision 2020. But first of all, the competency gap must be bridged for the
transformation process to succeed," Datuk Aziz added.
Why the need for
such a transformation? "The public of today is much more discerning and
demanding," he remarks. There is the tendency for the public to compare
their own state government Civil Service with those in other nations or
states. Invariably, certain areas of the Civil Service will be found wanting
or inadequate-thereby making further improvement in HR development a crucial
point. With that in mind, Datuk Aziz planned a comprehensive five-year HRD
programs of high intensity to train, develop and manage the human resource
capacity of the Civil Service.
"It is not an easy
job. The Civil Service is not a small task force," states Datuk Aziz with
a smile. To assist in the daunting task of training 19,000 civil servants
coming from different levels and groups, a quantifiable mechanism is needed
to measure and compare these levels and groups. "Thus, human resource management
(HRM) is also an important component in the transformation process," asserts
Datuk Aziz. Together, HRD and HRM will pave the way for the evolution of
the new Civil Service, one that will bring about self and public satisfaction
in service excellence.
Datuk Aziz attributes
the success of HRD and HRM programs and efforts to the political stability
in the state, and has this to say, "We are lucky. The political masters
recognise and understand the need for the Civil Service to be independent
in order for the transformation process to proceed smoothly and rapidly."
He called upon all civil servants to make full use of the available opportunities
to gain a high level of competency and to push through the reality of the
transformation of the new Civil Service.
The following ideas
and suggestions may be adopted to enhance HRD programmes within the state
Civil Service:
- Arrange and conduct more training
courses in rural areas. This will allow civil servants hands-on experience
on the situation in those areas.
- Vary the contents of course modules.
For instance, multimedia workshops to include actual interactions with
computers and software.
- Ensure course continuity with intermittent
refresher courses.
- Provide opportunity for Support
Groups to attend relevant courses available for the Professional Groups
and vice versa. This will assist in a better understanding of the styles
and responsibilites of both groups.
- Mix the participants from the Civil
Service with the private sector. This is advantageous in terms of sharing
information, networking and presentation of different perspectives.
