MIND Accepting Applications for Post Graduate Diploma in PSSMDP

The Management Institute for National Development (MIND) is currently accepting applications for its post graduate diploma in Public Sector Senior Management Development Programme (PSSMDP).
The training programme, which will be offered from November 29 to December 22, 2007, “is intended to increase the pool of persons, who are suitable for selection to senior leadership or executive management positions within the public sector, such as the office of Permanent Secretary,” Shantel Edwards, Senior Learning Facilitator and Programme Co-ordinator at MIND, told JIS News.
MIND has been offering the programme since 2001, exclusively targeting senior managers in public and private sector organisations.
Outlining the criteria for the course, Mrs. Edwards said that participants are expected to be working professionals, who occupy senior positions within their respective organisations and have attained tertiary level training and certification. This includes accredited first degrees or other professional qualifications, such as Masters degrees, ACCA and LLB.
One of the objectives of the programme is raising of the profile and practice of public management, through increased professionalism, technical knowledge and enhanced people skills. The programme, which is delivered in three modules, exposes participants to the Public Sector Environment, Personal Effectiveness and Organisational Management.
According to Mrs. Edwards, “persons who successfully complete the programme are at a distinct advantage when being considered for appointment to senior executive positions within the public sector”.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Environment, Devon Rowe, who was in the first cohort of the PSSMDP, has commended the Institute for offering the programme. “It allows one to see areas of Government responsibilities which you would not come in contact with otherwise,” he said.
Giving her views on the programme, Chief Personnel Officer in the Office of the Services Commission, Jacqueline Hinkson said that she found it enlightening. “It made me more aware of the critical operations of government,” she said.
Mrs. Edwards pointed out that, “MIND’s delivery and assessment methodologies are in keeping with the ethos of facilitating adult learners”, noting that participants who complete the programme successfully, should be “equipped with the necessary theoretical underpinnings and practical competences to address the challenges that are often faced by senior executives”.
Persons interested in pursuing the PSSMDP this year may apply through their organisations, or directly to the Institute. The deadline for submitting applications is November 15.