Country to get new human resource plan |17 September 2022

A partial view of the steering committee during its first meeting on Thursday

The Employment department has set up a high-level steering committee to guide and advise on the formulation of a new human resource plan for the country.

This follows the approval by the cabinet of ministers in July 2022 for the functions of human resource planning and human resource development to be transferred from the Agency for National Human Resource Development (ANHRD) to the Employment department in the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs (MESA).

The steering committee, to be co-chaired by the principal secretaries of the Employment department and National Planning department, held its first meeting on Thursday this week.

In attendance were the Minister for Employment and Social Affairs, Patricia Francourt; Minister for Finance, National Planning and Trade, Naadir Hassan; and the Minister for Education, Dr Justin Valentin.

Representatives from the respective ministries, other government entities as well as the private sector, who will also be members of the committee, were present for the first meeting.

In her introductory remarks, Minister Francourt stressed that the National HR Plan is a very important strategic priority of the ministry and its essence for the country as a whole.

She further highlighted the importance of having all relevant stakeholders on board to ensure the effectiveness of such tasks.

“We need to be guided where the country is going for effective and efficient human resource planning and, in order for us to manage expectations especially as the future remains uncertain with all that is happening globally,” the minister said.

Likewise, Minister Hassan noted that there is a great need to shift the mindset of the past ways of doing things as the country moves to a more digital era.

He outlined the importance of having a skilled workforce that can move in parallel with the present needs of the country and for its future as well.

“The exercise that we are embarking on unpins all of government’s policies, as without a HR plan it is not possible to achieve the transformation that we seek. For so long there has been a disconnect between the education system and the economy, thus the crucial need to revolutionise the way we build capacity.  The government’s expectation for this exercise is for there to be practical solutions, rather than more of the same thing that clearly has not worked,” Minister Hassan said.

The Minister for Education, Dr Valentin, in taking a more educational approach, reiterated the need to reassess the educational framework so that it can reflect the human resource needs of the country.

Dr Valentin stated it is imperative that education, in all its perspectives, is aligned to the reality of the National HR plan.

“The National HR plan highlights a new beginning for Seychelles, as the country moves from traditional to relevance in order to give our citizens the best possible deal so that they can achieve their full potential,” DR Valentin said.

At the meeting members were presented with an overview of the country’s current employment situation vis-a-vis the country’s priorities and human resource needs. This was done through presentations and fruitful debates that took an educational, systematic and financial perspectives.

Discussions also focused on the role and expected outcome of the committee, in its aim to guide and advise on the development and implementation of the national HR plan and its expected outcome to increase employability of Seychellois in line with current economic climate both nationally and globally.

All present agreed that it is crucial for all members to have a good understanding of what the committee entails, have mutual interpretation of the task and the monitoring of the implementation of the plan once it is launched. The committee discussed and suggested the targets, objectives and deliverables for the effective output of the National HR plan. An action plan was further drafted which will kick off the work of the committee.  

The committee is expected to meet weekly in the initial stage given the importance and urgency to have the plan formulated forthwith.

The National HR plan committee includes representatives from Employment department, National Planning department, Public Service Bureau, Central Bank of Seychelles, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Department of Information Communication Technology (DICT), Seychelles Investment Bureau (SIB), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), University of Seychelle, private sector (SCCI)

Contributed by the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs