Human Resource managers trained in modern practices

Human Resource managers from government ministries and agencies in Belize are being trained in modern management practices.

The training for senior managers from across Belize’s public service is taking place between 20 and 24 April 2009 in the country’s capital, Belmopan. It is organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

At the training workshop participants will address issues which are specific to Belize, where there are often mismatches between job descriptions and a manager’s actual duties and a lack of planning over the procedure for who takes over when employees leave. They will also examine the need for an effective performance management system to be introduced into the country’s public sector.

“The workshop will also teach participants how to write job descriptions,” said Dr Joan Imhoff-Nwasike, Adviser on Governance and Institutional Development at the Secretariat. “Job descriptions are basic components of all major human resource policies and practices, and as such it is crucial that human resource managers have a solid understanding of how to best write them.”

Last November an analysis of Human Resource managers in Belize was conducted and a two-year Human Resources Training Framework designed.

‘An Analysis of the Contract System of Employment for Senior Public Service Officers in Caribbean Countries: Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and St Lucia’ has also been launched at this workshop. Written by Dr Philip Osei of the University of the West Indies and Dr Imhoff-Nwasike of the Commonwealth Secretariat, this publication is the first title in the Secretariat’s Performance Management Series.

“This series will be of benefit to public sector policy-makers, senior managers, academics and others at the centre of performance improvement in the public sector as governments try to adopt a ‘whole of government approach’ in managing their resources,” said Jacqueline Wilson, Director of Governance and Institutional Development at the Secretariat.

Secretariat Links:

• Governance
• Country Profile: Belize

Related Websites:

• Institute of Public Administration of Canada