BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

BRUNEI’S executive development programmes for senior government officials and middle management officials have graduated 754 since its inception 18 years ago.

The Deputy Director General of the Public Service Department (PSD) Hj Abd Manap Osmanreleased this figure during the sixth Brunei-Malaysia-Singapore Leadership Development Programme where he explained to the participants how Brunei, specifically the PSD, were developing their future leaders.

According to the deputy director general, the annual Executive Development Programme for Senior Government Officials (EDPSGO) had a total of 372 participants since its start in 1996, with the exception of the year 2000 when there was a hiatus when the APEC was held here.

He added that the programme had aimed to enhance the skills and abilities of the participating senior government officials, while also helping to develop new approaches and innovative thinking and to formulate and implement policies, programs and projects more effectively.

Since 2005, the programme has also brought participants to various countries for working visits, such as Australia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

The Executive Development Programme for Middle Management Officials (EDPMMO), had a total of 382 participants since 2003.

The deputy director general said, “This programme is an innovative development programme for middle management officials in the public service sector by providing them with knowledge management skills and exposes them with the fundamentals of leadership qualities.”

He added that the aim of the programme was to help the participants build understanding of the global scenario, acquire the latest techniques, to provide them with knowledge and improve leadership and management skills.

The deputy director general also mentioned the modules that the participants of the executive development programmes must undergo that include “Speaking up with Confidence”, “Crisis and Conflict Management” and “Islamic Management”.

The participants of the executive development programmes are also assessed based on presentation, interactive sessions, mini forums and study visits (only for EDPSGO). However this lead to a challenge that the department needs to face regarding the best way of assessing the success of the programme.

“As much as we want to train many potential leaders at a particular time, the most important factor is the outcome of the programme. It is difficult to measure the success of the programme in a very short time, therefore there is a need to have constant follow through,” said the director general.

The Brunei Times