The Public Service Commission has held a three-day training programme for its staff to bring them up to speed on the role of the public service, its systems and processes as well as writing job cover letters.

The 7-9 September training programme called “Hire Me Training” was delivered by Lenara Tuipoloa Utuva and Angela Palu Phineas and attracted 13 participants who have bachelor degrees in various fields.

It focused on the following areas: general understanding of Samoa’s public service and its functions; understanding employment processes and procedures in the public service; locating jobs and requesting for application packages; filling application forms and answering selection criteria; writing a curriculum vitae or resume and cover letter; and preparing for a successful interview. 

The university graduates who attended the training reflected on how essential it was for them at this time of increasing unemployment prospects due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The Assistant Chief Executive Officer [Human Resource Development], Sarona Esera, thanked the graduates for taking time to participate in the training and encouraged them to have confidence to apply and seek assistance from their staff when needed. 

A recent graduate of The University of South [U.S.P.] Laucala Campus, who majored in politics and sociology and also participated in the training, shared the lessons he learnt from the three-day training.

So'onalole Fa'anana Ainu'u, who has studied in Fiji for over three years and returned to Samoa a few weeks ago after being in quarantine, said the training was recommended to him by a former U.S.P. students who are now working at the commission.

"The P.S.C. workshop was mainly for us who had just graduated and have not found employment yet. It was to show us the process of interview, what to do and what not do, filling of the application form, curriculum vitae, resume and cover letter," So'onalolo added.