The Public Service Commission is working on putting together a "consolidated strategy" on how Samoa can have a skilled workforce to meet its labour needs. 

Under the Pathway for the Development of Samoa 2021/22-2025/26, the blueprint asks the Commission to develop a National Workforce Plan which is now in progress.

The National workforce Plan, according to the Commission's latest newsletter, is expected to be a consolidated strategy of how Samoa can have a workforce that is skilled and meets the country’s labour needs. 

"More importantly, the Plan should direct Samoa’s efforts and limited resources to address workforce challenges to promote employment growth, address skills and job mismatch, as well as labor shortages," the Commission newsletter reads.

The development of the Samoa National Workforce Plan includes 52 Government agencies that are under the Public Administration Sector as well as the private sector and non-government organisations. 

"The workforce plan will shape Samoa’s workforce now and in the future. This can be done by providing an environment to analyze, forecast, and plan labour supply and demands, assessing gaps, and determining targeted talent management interventions to ensure the right people and skills are there to support the delivery of government services."

The Commission has confirmed that they are looking at completing the Public Service Reform by the end of this year, if all goes according to plan.

The first phase of the reform commenced on 20 February 2023 with the Commission taking the lead in consultations with the 18 Ministries under its jurisdiction. 

"Phase 1 is to ensure ‘fit for purpose’ staffing structures that supports high organizational performance, by reviewing the need for existing vacancies, reconsidering the functional allocation across agencies, and making a decision as to whether vacant positions should be removed if they are found to be a surplus to requirements. 

"Further, the reform is also considering skills gaps or shortages that may be critically needed to facilitate government priorities as per the Pathway for the Development of Samoa. 

"The PSC has conducted a preliminary analysis of skills required to deliver on the objectives set out in the PDS, and the reform consultations are used as a platform to reconfirm these priorities with each Ministry. The PSC will also consult with the rest of the public and private sectors, to confirm skills needs, to update the human resource priority list. 

"Finally, the reform will identify and re-assess skills misalignment within government Ministries, and make recommendations on options such as internal and external transfers, sinking lid strategy, and others. 

The second phase of the review is on ‘Organizational Functional Review and is planned for 6-8 months to allow for unforeseen events.