By Lamin B. Darboe
Information Officer, PMO
As part of efforts to implement the E-Recruitment Portal, staff of the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Personnel Management Office (PMO) underwent a five-day training workshop from the 15th to 21st June, 2022 at the Nifty ICT Solution Training Centre in Bijilo.
The portal will enable job seekers to apply for jobs as well as submit their applications online. It is geared towards ensuring access by all and sundry irrespective of location. It is also part of the government’s drive to attract talented Gambians who may wish to come and serve their home country as well as shortening the whole application process which unusually takes a long time from the advertisement to the interviews.
The Secretary to the Public Service Commission, Abdoulie Jafuneh, in his opening statement called on the participants to take the training seriously as the whole rationale behind the E-Recruitment is to embrace the realities of science and technology especially in Information and Communication Technology.
He made reference to the recent statement made by the Vice President of the Gambia in the just concluded Cabinet retreat where he implored the need for the Gambia to transform into digital phase as the trend for the Twenty first century called for this.
Mr. Jafuneh explained that as administrators, the training will equip and enhance their skills and knowledge to better administer the portal once it is fully operational citing that the importance of this very training cannot be underestimated.
He informed that the Public Service Commission has over the years been making efforts to realize this dream but due to reasons beyond its control, the prospect of having it could not be achieved earlier.
He further indicated that this time around there is a political will and commitment from all stakeholders including the support by the new Minister of Public Service. He challenged the participants to remain focused during the training as this portal is the first of its kind and that its success and/or failure is hinged on how effective and efficient the administrators are as well as how well they have utilized the knowledge gained after the training.
He thanked the management of the Nifty ICT Solution for availing the Public Service Commission and Personnel Management Office the opportunity to have this training done through them citing that Nifty has been assisting his office with lots of background work prior to this very training.
He expressed confidence that the PSC will continue to work with Nifty after the portal is launched for both moral and technical support for its smooth operations.
He concluded his statement by informing that the training is also very crucial in that once it is successfully conducted and the objectives realized, the portal will be eventually launched anytime in July, 2022 by the Public Service Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Service.
The 14 participants are being trained both in theory and practical in all aspects relevant to the E-Recruitment process.
