Productivity week focuses on capacity building |20 March 2018

Workers are being urged to double their efforts to improve their performance and aim at increasing productivity in their respective workplaces so as to nurture an attitude of service excellence to meet the needs and expectations of the public.

The appeal comes from the Minister for Employment, Immigration and Civil Status, Miriam Telemaque, while speaking at the launch of Productivity Week yesterday at the Guy Morel Institute at Ma Joie.

She urged organisations to establish consistent and structural systems to manage performance and to reward their staff based on pre-established performance indicators vis-à-vis organisations objectives.

“This is very important and I am sure you will agree with me that a productive employee is not strictly defined by his or her qualification but rather by the output of performance,” she said, noting that investing in human resources is not only a cost to organisations but also an investment to support the development of the business. 

Minister Telemaque added that with the rapid pace of development and diversification in the economy, there is a need to re-look at our training strategies and that employers should take the initiative offered by government through tax rebates as a source to encourage them to train their workers.

The Productivity Awareness week under the theme ‘Nurturing a Culture of Productivity and Service Excellence’ will have a four-day workshop based on capacity building.

Organised by the Ministry of Employment, Immigration and Civil Status, the commemorative week is aimed at sensitising employers and employees on the importance of productivity.

Yesterday also saw the launch a workshop on productivity concepts for careers guidance and personal social citizenship education (PSCE) teachers from secondary and post secondary institutions.

The objective of this workshop is to establish an understanding of the term productivity and to discuss the main concept and justification for productivity enhancement. This is in line with a decisive step within the framework of the National Employment Policy Strategies for the inclusion of productivity within the school curriculum in Seychelles.

Topics being covered in the workshop are the definition of productivity, factors affecting productivity, improving productivity through personal social development and staff welfare among others.

The ministry’s director of entrepreneurship and workshop facilitator, Marie-Celine Zialor, said that school teachers have been chosen for the workshop as they are better placed at grass root level to work with their students on the productivity concepts before they enter the world of work and this will benefit the country through a cultured productivity attitude in future.

A two-day workshop on productivity concepts for decision makers starts tomorrow.

There is a push to increase productivity, responsiveness and accountability which are affecting organisations’ ability to achieve their objectives. Managers have to therefore embark on this journey of productivity enhancement with modern leadership practices and sustainable policies, investment in capacity building, adopt best productivity practices and provide a favourable framework that encourages innovations.

Present at the launch ceremony were the principal secretary for employment Jules Baker, youth and sports principal secretary Fabian Palmyre, leader of government business in the National Assembly Charles Decommarmond, Dean of the Guy Morel Institute Shella Mohideen, trade unions representatives, teachers and other invitees.

The week-long activity will also include talks with secondary schools students and in work places.