09.10.12
Academy launched to improve civil servants’ skills
The National Outsourcing Association (NOA) has launched the Public Sector Skills Academy to boost the skills and knowledge of civil servants.
Workshops will focus on governance, performance management and relationship management, and will be built into university-accredited qualifications. The academy is tailored to outsourcing contracts and aims to cultivate a community between disparate public sector agencies.
NOA chairman Martyn Hart said: “Contract and governance are two sides of the same coin, but governance is all too often overlooked. You need to build the right communications strategies so that all stakeholders collaborate effectively and issues are resolved before they become problems. Building trust is essential.
“But how do you build genuine trust, that doesn’t rely on blind faith? With proper due diligence, and effective monitoring of performance on BOTH sides of the deal, trust will form and innovation can prevail. The workshops will teach all this and much more.”
The Academy will address the current lack of skills in outsourcing in the civil service.
This August, the Cabinet Office stated: “We absolutely agree that the Civil Service lacks sufficient commercial and commissioning skills.
“That's why in the civil service reform plan which we published earlier this summer we announced that we will be conducting a capabilities review to identify areas where skills are insufficient and areas where they are in surplus.”
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