KAMLESH PRAKASH - r Inspiration - Mahatma Gandhi r Hobbies - fishing/swimming r Ambition in life - to be a good citizen! r Most passionate about - Quality and improvements r Achievement most proud of - turned around the NTPC business over the last two years. r Best advice ever received - If you can’t help, don’t harm! r Skills or qualities wish you had - Wish I was proficient in iTaukei language r How to achieve work-life balance - Lock your family time and maintain an exercise regime. r Most valued possession - My family r Person want to meet - President Obama.
Compiled by RACHNA LAL
Welcome to Hard Talk, where we pose questions to both top executives and budding entrepreneurs on some of the major issues involving business.
Training is an integral part of one’s professional and personal development.
Fiji National University’s National Training and Productivity Centre is one such institute which specialises in providing training in a wide range of programmes.
The National Training and Productivity Centre holds Industry Forum Discussion annually which is a consultative forum engaging its key stakeholders.
Discussions and workshops around the country are held to stimulate both feedback from organisations on the training and services provided by the centre as well as collate information on the present and future training needs of employers.
It is also a platform which provides an opportunity to exchange ideas and views with the industry partners in relation to industry training and development.
It is also to provide employers information on the Fiji National University’s programmes and services and seek input from the industry on their relevancy and adequacy.
Questions for Kamlesh Prakash, director of National Training and Productivity Centre:
1. What is the reason for holding the Industry Forum Discussion?
All our programmes are targeted at the industry and organisations out there and as such, we believe there should not be any disconnect in what we offer and what the industry desires.
So to ensure this, we draw upon the contribution and inputs from as many employers and organisations around the country, including many of the smaller towns and some remote areas and incorporate these in the design of our programmes for the coming year.
We often develop new programmes based on the needs of industries and are able to better understand the changes and challenges faced by employers and are updated on technology used or evolving so that we can factor these in our design of programs and services.
Obviously, the objective is also to network and collaborate with employers and industries and promote rich partnership and relations with employers.
2. What is Method A and Method B employers?
This is a classification unique to our Levy/Grant Scheme where the Method A employers are typically the bigger organisations in the country.
They undertake a systematic approach to training, have well-organised training departments and training personnel who undertake a training needs analysis, develop their own training plans and implement the plans by frequently training their staff at all levels.
Method B employers on the other hand are mostly the smaller organizations who do not undertake a systematic approach to training and often lack the manpower and resources to manage the training function within the organisation. So this scheme is mostly for the SMEs you may say.
There are a total of 57 Method A employers registered at FNU and some 6500 Method B employers.
3. What is designed to be achieved through the Industry Discussion Forum?
The Industry Discussion Forum provides the input and basis for the formulation of our training programmes for the coming year or 2014.
Without a comprehensive analysis and without taking cognizance of the needs of employers our training would be just supply side and at best hit and miss. We consciously want to avoid this outcome hence the need for proper planning and design.
Industry Discussion Forum this year was held during the months of May and June at 13 different locations. These were in Suva, Nausori, Labasa, Savusavu, Rakiraki, Ba, Lautoka, Sigatoka, Nadi, Denarau, Pacific Harbour, Taveuni and Levuka.
Our consultations with chief executives and Permanent Secretaries/government agencies are continuing.
4. How was the success of these discussions gauged?
Success to me is gauged from the quality of attendance and also the quality of input/deliberations and new ideas recorded. This year we had participation from several chief executives and executives, industry associations, employer bodies.
Participation in the forum this year more than doubled compared to the previous years which is indicative of the interest and faith employers have in FNU.
This year through the Industry Discussion Forum and based on needs expressed we have also decided to open a Centre in Taveuni, while we are exploring the same for Savusavu and Levuka.
5. What are some of the key concerns from business industries from the sessions held?
The industries desire to have specific and focused training for their target audiences and they want training made available to them in their township or in-house and also at times that suit them without interrupting work.
There were lots of interest expressed around marine/maritime programs, hospitality, occupational health and safety (OHS), information technology (IT), business excellence and Technical Training.
Industries also desire better quality training facilities and they wish to be engaged more in the training and development opportunities for their staff.
6. Is NTPC going to take that on board?
Absolutely! We value the feedback and in several areas are already responding to the needs expressed. For others, we are factoring this in our planning exercise that will be underway at the end of the month for our programs next year.
7. How will these concerns be put into practice?
The Industry Discussion Forum report will be discussed at length during our programme planning session in late July and the implementation plan will be discussed and deployed.
8. What is the National Training and Productivity Centre’s advice regarding training needs?
You train or you perish! All industries and organisations must become involved in skilling their workforce for achieving higher performance and productivity.
We in Fiji are unique in the sense that we have a robust training /grants scheme in the country to which employers contribute 1 per cent of their gross payroll, and we have several areas in which training is mandated by government and the scheme itself.
There are also severe implications for not undertaking training.
The ability of our industries and quality of goods and services produced in the country have a lot to do with the ability of our people to produce.
Our integration with the global economy and the changes and challenges that it imposes in all spheres of business and commerce necessitate that we take training and development of employees seriously to have a competitive edge over other countries and especially to give the best to our consumers here in Fiji.
9. How was this year’s programme better or different from last year?
Apart from the increased numbers that attended this year and their level, we also convened the discussion in Pacific Harbour for the first time to cater for the expanding tourism and hospitality industries in the Pacific Harbour –Navua corridor.
The participants were divided into sector based syndicate groups and deliberated on the needs of their business and evolving trends and opportunities for Fiji.