National Human Resources Development Council

Press Release: 16 -August - 2011

AWARD TO HONOUR STAFF DEVELOPMENTAL

On 17th August the National Human Resources Development Council will launch a national Human Resources Development Award to honour organizations in the public, parastal and private sectors with exemplary HRD practices. The Award will also be an incentive for organizations to put in place effective mechanisms for the ongoing professional development of their staff.

The Seychelles Human Resources Development Award seeks to get employers of all types and sizes in the country voluntarily registered. This would enable them to participate in a transparent assessment of their own HRD policies, relevant to their size and business sector, and the chance to win the SHRD Award for the period of assessment. The criteria for the assessment and Award will be circulated to all organizations who apply to participate in the Award. The first Award will be given in 2012, and every two years thereafter.

The truth is that the best qualified graduates will look for job opportunities with the best organizations. ‘Best’ organizations are hard to define in the absence of any system of assessment or rating. An objective method of rating, such as that offered by the new SHRD Award would therefore set a new standard for best practice in the industry, and fill this need for job seekers.

Forward looking, progressive employers can grasp the opportunity to register early for the SHRD Award and make HR a priority focus of their efforts within the organization. This way, they could achieve as high a rating as possible and gain the benefits of attracting and retaining the people with best possible talents and skills. Results will be circulated widely to all graduate students and employment agencies. Highly rated employers will thus get recognition and extensive exposure. Others will get useful feedback and be encouraged to improve their ratings in the next round. If organizations choose not to register they will be absent from the results that are circulated or published. This reduces their chances of attracting the best talents in the job market.

NHRDC believes that this SHRD Award process will inherently develop and strengthen good human resources practice across all sectors of the economy. This aligns perfectly with the vision and the goals of NHRDC. Our competitiveness at the international level will also stand a much better chance if there is positive competitiveness of this nature at the national enterprise level. Most organizations state that people are their most important assets. Therefore, this is an opportunity for them to ‘walk the talk’!