Civil Servants Take Centre Stage November 19-25

Civil servants will take centre stage from November 19 to 25, as Civil Service Week 2023 will be observed, and long-serving members recognised at a ceremony on November 22.

The Week, which is being celebrated under the theme ‘Raising the Bar: Strengthening the Bond’, is geared towards highlighting the worth and work of outstanding civil servants who have given excellent service to the country.

Director of the Corporate Communication and Public Relations Branch at the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Shelly-Ann Weeks, told JIS News that the week helps to educate persons about the work of the public service.

“The importance of doing this is to build rapport, to build camaraderie within the persons in the civil service, and to ensure that the Jamaican people know that the people in the civil service are actually making very great efforts, sacrifices and they are working very hard to give the best service,” Miss Weeks said.

The week is packed with activities to celebrate and engage civil servants and provide the public with information on the new developments within the sector.

According to Ms. Weeks, the week is significant, as the Government is the largest employer of persons with approximately 100,000 persons in the civil service labour force.

“The activities include the Civil Servant of the Year and People’s Choice Award – this is going to happen on the 17th at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston. This is sponsored by our partners FHC Credit Union, and they are excited to award persons who give exemplary service in the civil service,” Ms. Weeks noted.

She explained that the People’s Choice element is special because the winner will be selected by their peers.

“The person is chosen from our 12 finalists, who are nominated in different categories, and if you go on the Ministry’s website you will see them.

Their peers will vote for them and the person with the most votes wins,” she explained.

On November 19, there will be a main church service at Fellowship Tabernacle in St. Andrew, with other church services happening islandwide, all of which will be live-streamed.

On Saturday, November 25, church services will be held for persons who are Seventh-day Adventists.

There will be a public forum on Tuesday with experts sharing information about the improvements taking place in the public service to raise the standard of output to customers.

“Another function will be held on the 22nd of November where the Jamaica Civil Service Association will host its long-service awards, where persons who have given significant years of service to the sector will be awarded,” Miss Weeks added.

“Then we get into the 23rd and 24th. We are bringing back the quiz competition. The ministries, departments and agencies will participate in a quiz competition with two rounds and this will happen at the Jamaica Conference Centre and it will be live-streamed as well,” Miss Weeks noted.

Rounding out the activities on the Friday will be the Civil Service After Work Lyme and Zoom Party at Club Overtime at the National Housing Trust.

To enter, civil servants must walk with their work ID.

“There will be an amateur DJ competition and domino competition at the Zoom Party, and you don’t want to miss it. All the activities for the week will be streamed on the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service social media platforms, so we encourage everyone to come out and support,” Miss Weeks said.