Articles

2022-12-07

155 training courses for 6,000 trainees from all governorates during the new plan for localities

Mahmoud Shaarawy, the minister of local development, has approved the start of the local training plan for the fiscal year 2022/2023 in mid-August. The plan includes 155 courses and workshops with an increase of 27% compared to the past training year, pointing out that the number of the developed courses included in the plan have reached 65 new courses with a 42% update over the suggested courses. There are around 6 thousand trainees who benefit from the training plan courses with an increase of 20% compared to the past training year. The plan is implemented within 10 months with a total of 40 weeks, and a total of 183 training weeks representing an increase of 17% compared to the past training year.

Shaarawy said, in today's statement, that it is planned to implement placement tests for preparing trainees and future leaders, English language, computer basics, data analysis, projects management, geographic information system, information networks, graphic designing, and program-development basics courses at the Local Development Center for training in Saqqara, two weeks prior to the plan's implementation. The tests last for 12 days, and there are 1,344 candidates from governorates and the Ministry.

Noting 29 new courses had been included to implement the Ministry's presidential mandate to disseminate good practices to the Local Development Program in Egypt in all governorates as a first stage. These courses benefit heads of centers, cities, directors and planning officials at the level of the Bureau and centers, directors and public relations officials, as well as human resources managers and training officials at the level of the Bureau and centers, urban development teams and technological center follow-up committees at the level of the governorates.

Shaarawy revealed the implementation of 5 targeted courses to improve the environment, manage solid waste and cope with climate change, in line with the holding of the Cop27 World Climate Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in November 2022, in cooperation with the Ministry’s solid waste management unit and the Ministry of Environment. The training plan also involves cooperation with new business partners in new courses implemented for the first time, such as the General Investment Authority, WFP, Ezri and the General Authority for Urban Planning.

The Minister of Local Development drew attention to the increase in the number of courses consistent with the State's direction to digital transformation and the implementation of new courses for the first time such as the Metaverse Application Course in Improving Local Services (Artificial Intelligence and Virtual World), the Digital Trainer Preparation Course, and the Power BI Data Analysis Course. A specialized laboratory for future foresight applications, with its entire equipment and programs, will be established through a grant from the Regional Center for Sustainable Development and Future Foresight Studies for use in the Plan.

Shaarawy continued that the number of courses for local leaders, in response to the recommendation of the House of Representatives, had been increased to 10 for heads of centers, cities, neighbourhoods and their deputies; and heads of village units and deputies instead of 7 last year, with the opportunity for the graduates of the French University (ESLSCA) of the local administration’s personnel to train in the courses for future leaders' graduates (6 advanced courses) implemented by the Regional Center for Sustainable Development and Future Foresight Studies. Shaarawy mentioned the inclusion of new courses for the Ministry's labor partners, projects and others on the newly enacted laws and mechanism for dealing with them, lobbying and supporting population policies, developed local development programs, preparation of trainers in the field of population, environment, inspection and the work of technological centers and population change units, and development of units created by the organizational structure of the local administration of heads of centers, cities and neighborhoods. He also clarified that the plan took into account all targeted groups to implement the Ministry's vision and objectives on the ground, the outcome of workshops and meetings held during April, May and June 2022 at Saqqara Training Center with representatives of governorates, the Ministry, experts and trainers, and the outcome of the study and evaluation of the plan previously implemented in the training and fiscal year 2021/2022. He stressed the need to follow up the response and participation of the governorates in each course and to assess the benefit of training on the development of trainees’ individual performance and the general development for their public employers. The plan also included the training of 150 TOT graduates in 5 new two-week specialized courses to utilize them as trainers for the courses in which they would be specialized, whether at the Local Development Training Center in Saqqara or the governorates’ training centers.

The Minister of Local Development demanded the governors to announce the training plan and its general conditions, as well as the placement tests plan, for all workers in the governorate up to the village level, and to make such plans available and accessible through modern technology and platforms on Facebook pages, governorates’ electronic portals and WhatsApp work-groups, in order to target all departments involved in training, disseminate access to courses, allow candidates in governorates to apply for these courses on paper or online, and disseminate the plan in all local units to allow all local workers to enroll in training courses to develop their professional, functional and administrative capacities, ultimately reflecting on the improvement of services provided to citizens in the governorates and highlights the positive image of governorates before the political leadership.

Shaarawy added that during the training plan, the Ministry is currently preparing for several distance-training courses at Saqqara Center in coordination with some external entities with which the Ministry cooperates in the training file in Saqqara, notably the National Training Academy, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Dutch Municipal Union and the International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG).

He also clarified that the pillars of the new training plan included several topics, including administrative reform, technology centers, citizens' service centers, development of women leaders' skills in executive work, political communication system, acceleration of economic development, integration of citizens into development plans, English language, entrepreneurship, development of skills and management of the human rights system, local leaders, supervisory functions, digital transformation, computer applications, modules created in the ministry and governorates, training of trainers (TOT), mass media and community communication, preparation of future leaders, project management, financial management, human resources development, Geographic Information System (GIS), inventory and management of State property, advertising laws, public shops, and the population strategic plan.