Improving public sector working conditions

Public sector employees are affected by structural adjustment policies, deregulation, privatization, contracting out of services and technological change. These trends affect employment levels, status, career development, mobility, remuneration, job content, skill requirements, and social security benefits.

In their efforts to improve the relevance of training, instructors are making increasing use of four promising approaches: 1. Action learning, pioneered by the National Coal Board in the UK and then used in many public and private organizations throughout the world. Managers work individually or in teams to solve a practical problem. They may spend time in a lecture room with a tutor or consultant, but there is no "trainer" who is teaching "trainees". 2. Integrated Training Programs, developed by the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank. This method combines short courses with project-related technical assistance. 3. Performance Improvement Planning (PIP), favoured by the ILO and the UN has been applied to public enterprises in a number of developing countries. Consultants and management specialists play only a catalytic role. Instead of passively attending lectures, participants collectively set targets and prepare plans for pursuing them. Follow-up action is specific and immediate' sometimes leading to dramatic improvements. 4. Modular training, also used by the ILO, has been effective in upgrading supervisory skills and knowledge quickly. The training programme consists of modules covering various aspects of management such as finance and cost control, maintenance, purchasing' and salary and wage administration.