The DAP and APO Secretariat organized a training course on Development of Public-sector Productivity Specialists, 5–9 December, to assist participants in acquiring required skillsets and competencies as productivity specialists who can continuously enhance performance and productivity in the public sector under the new normal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit organizations and employees in every sector worldwide in unprecedented ways, including the public sector. It has changed the ways employees operate, forcing them to adjust to remote work and adopt digital solutions to ensure the continuity of services while enhancing performance and productivity. Recognizing the importance of public-sector performance in serving citizens’ needs under the new normal, the APO Secretariat continues examining methods and approaches to improve work processes, employee motivation and skills, and managerial capability to optimize public-sector resources in the region. These factors constitute the fundamentals of the APO Public-sector Productivity Framework.

Forty-three participants from 11 APO members attended the training course, along with one resource person from Canada, one from the ROK, and two from the Philippines. They discussed the importance of productivity growth in the public sector and examined the roles of productivity specialists in supporting improvement initiatives in public-sector organizations.