Management Development Institution (MDI) recently concluded a two-week induction training for entrants into the civil service for a group of civil servants.
Speaking at the closing ceremony held at the institute’s conference hall in Kanifing, Alieu K. Jarju, deputy director general of MDI, said the institution will also continue to work hand in glove with the private sector and the NGO community for similar trainings.
“We believe that no country can make any meaningful economic progress without developing the knowledge, skills and capabilities of its citizens to manage available resources,” he said.
According to him, building human skills is a necessity for survival in today’s world, adding that continuous skills building, however, is not just beneficial for survival, but also plays a vital role in success and the pursuit of goals as technology and society progresses. Updating skills must progress as well, he added.
“Opportunity is very scarce nowadays and there are very keen competitions everywhere in the world for decent life through further education. Without a very good background in modern skills, you stand not a very good chance as you may wish in this world of today,” Jarju argued.
He finally assured the gathering that his institution will continue to train and equip government officials with the necessary skills to fulfil the objectives of major government development programmes such as Vision 2020.
For his part, Dawda Fadera, permanent secretary at the Personnel Management Office, congratulated the participants for the successful completion of the course.
“It is good when you are employed that you are familiarized with the Dos and Don’ts,” he said, adding that the UNDP helped them with the formal manual, the training of which this first group has benefited from.
He thanked the MDI for its support, saying he hopes the collaboration and partnership would continue.
He encouraged various government sectors to provide them with their study plans so the capacity building can be decentralised.
Delivering the vote of thanks, Kebba E.A. Touray expressed gratefulness to the organizers for their training while assuring them that they will make maximum use of the knowledge gained from the training.
He also hailed the UNDP for their support to the project.
