Careers Centre

Training and development in the public sector

If you’ve experienced the frustration of feeling stagnant in your private sector role, you’re not alone. In the commercial area, training is often the first discipline to suffer when times are tough. For most of us, keeping our skills up to date and achieving milestones in training and recognition are key to job satisfaction and motivation, as well as to our daily performance. One of the public sector’s great strengths is in training resource and provision.

In the public sector, training and development form part of the basic principles of the whole organisation. In its 2008 "Excellence and fairness: achieving world class public services" report, the government sets out its commitment to a “new professionalism in public service." Training, professional development and knowledge sharing underpin this.

 In practice, this means that you’ll usually find a structured approach to performance evaluation and skills development, with regular reviews and the opportunity to take up training. There are hundreds of private training organisations used by the public sector to deliver training in every area:

• Leadership and management – strategy, personal development, people management skills
  
• Equality and diversity – human rights, gender equality, disability awareness
  
• Professional skills – project and time management, desktop software and end user IT, communications, customer service
  
• Specialist skills – accounting, HR, and other professional accreditations, job-specific skills and supervisory training

As well as classroom training and the chance to study for externally recognised qualifications, many professions within the public sector offer online centres of excellence, where peers from different public sector organisations can network and exchange ideas, questions and best practice.

Conferences and conventions also play an important part in the professional development of many public sector employees. Because of the size of the whole public sector, staff in similar roles from different individual public sector organisations are often given the opportunity to meet and learn together about the latest developments in their particular field. As well as peers within your own public sector employer, you may find you have access to a wider professional community. Staff who innovate and deliver good results may find their achievements given a high profile and outstanding working practices being adopted across other organisations.

Cabinet office reports directly influence individual public sector organisations’ strategy and budgets. In the 2009 report, “Building Britain’s Future” www.hmg.gov.uk/buildingbritainsfuture.aspx, there’s more encouraging news for current and future public sector employees: “We have fostered innovation and flexibility in service provision by freeing up public service professionals, by increasing training and development and recruiting more of our country’s highest achievers into our key public services.” Public sector bodies are looking to recruit high performers from the private sector as well as promoting the best internally. Many organizations operate talent management programmes to foster their talents.