Minister of Public Infra-structure David Patterson is intent on investing in the training of staff in the various departments and agencies that fall under the ambit of his ministry.
According to a press release from the ministry, Patterson, after interacting with staff of the Works Services Group, the Guyana Power and Light, Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and Cheddi Jagan Inter-national Airport (CJIA), stated, “We have young, vibrant young people in our midst. It is therefore imperative that career advancement is key to the further development within this ministry.”
He said, he wanted the ministry to be one that epitomizes professionalism and emboldens bold and innovative ideas and that this would need systematic investments in staff education and training.
To this end, the release said, instructions have been given to heads of departments to ensure that all staff are exposed to both local and international training.
“Gone are those days when only a predominate few benefited from training programmes/courses; that circle has to be widened,” he declared.
The knowledge and skills of the staff, the minister further stated, is the ministry’s most important competitive advantage.
“Therefore, we must strive to continuously strengthen, upgrade and extend… younger minds. Activities in the field of education and training that develop qualified and motivated employees, will remain one of our priority strategic policies also in the future,” the release quoted him as saying.
Touching on the perception of unprofessionalism and poor communications skills in the public domain, the minister said those issues will be addressed with some urgency.
“For a long time staff adopted certain behavioural attitudes and patterns, so it will be a challenge to break that.
However, I am confident we will make progress to change that viewpoint,” he was further quoted as saying.
According to the release, although he is still familiarizing himself with the operational aspects of the departments and agencies, Patterson is generally satisfied with the knowledge and skills shown by the staff at all levels. However, he firmly believes that training opportunities must be available to more staff. “The future and progression of the Infrastructure Ministry depend on it,” he added.
