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Council staff are top of the class

RECENTLY, 11 learners from Carmarthenshire County Council donned their cap and gowns as they graduated from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David with a Post-Graduate Certificate in Leadership in Public Service.

Five further learners from Torfaen County Borough Council also graduated with a Master of Arts in Leadership in Public Service, having completed their graduate certificate qualification previously.

The Leadership in Public Service Programme was initially developed in 2010 through a collaboration between the University’s Wales Institute for Work-based Learning (WIWBL) and Torfaen County Borough Council. The programme is designed to develop the future leaders for the public sector – from those working in the Emergency Services through to Council Officials and Social Housing.

Nick Samuel, Director of the Programme said: “It’s really pleasing to see cohorts from both Carmarthenshire and Torfaen celebrating their success today. They have benefitted themselves through following this programme, however, the real benefactors from their studies are the people they serve in their local community.

“This programme is a true tripartite collaboration between the employers, the development company responsible for delivering the programme and the University itself – with all three working together to improve public services for the citizens of Wales.”

Cllr Mair Stephens, Carmarthenshire County Council Executive Board Member for Human Resources, said: “A big congratulations to all those who graduated – they have completed their studies whilst undertaking their day to day jobs and have shown great commitment.

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“Staff development is a key priority for us, as we want to ensure our officers are well equipped and motivated.

“The rigorous selection process for this scheme gave members of staff an opportunity to hone their interview skills as well as to gain the certificate. It is pleasing to see many of our candidates progress and indeed to have the confidence to apply to more senior posts.”

The programme consists of three modules with the first exploring personal leadership for citizen service, allowing learners to critique their own personal leadership style and compare it with current day thinking. The second looks at the political context of citizen service, asking learners to explore the political pressures that govern their public role; with the final module requiring learners to develop and deliver a change and improvement initiative within their areas of responsibility. Learners who successfully complete all three modules are awarded are then awarded a Post Graduate Certificate in Leadership in Public Service.

UWTSD’s Wales Institute for Work-Based Learning first launched the Professional Practice Framework in 2009. Since then, the programmes on offer have grown significantly with learners from a range of different backgrounds – including Social Care, Manufacturing, Police and other public and private sector fields – benefiting from opportunities offered as part of these courses.

“It was wonderful to see an overall number of 133 learners graduating from programmes offered by the University’s Wales Institute for Work-Based Learning during this year’s graduation ceremonies,” added Nick Samuel.

“All of our learners are in employment, therefore successfully managing to juggle work commitments with their studies is a great achievement. We’d like to congratulate all of our learners on their success – we are very proud of them all.”

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