To celebrate Public Service Commission Day, we speak with Australia Awards alumna, Julie Obed, who is a Senior Employment Services Officer of Performance at the Office of the Public Service Commission. Julie graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Commerce – Management & Public Administration & Information System from the University of the South Pacific’s Laucala campus, Fiji.
The vision of the Office of the Public Service Commission is to foster a public sector with good governance principles and robust institutions delivering inclusive and sustainable public services and support. Within Julie’s role she is responsible for supporting the development and implementation of senior executive officer performance agreements. This involves assisting in the facilitation of performance agreement reviews whilst maintaining detailed performance records.
Julie explains ‘my goal is to enhance performance excellence across the public service. I can achieve this by introducing innovative strategies and providing expert HR guidance, including coaching and mentoring on best practices‘.
Vanuatu is undergoing a significant economic transition, moving away from its traditional reliance on agriculture and fisheries towards a future driven by tourism, renewable energy, and technology. This economic transformation is generating new job opportunities that demand specialised skills, consequently creating skill gaps and potential labour shortages within the country’s traditional industries.
The government has outlined strategies to address these challenges in the National Human Resource Development Plan (2020-2030) and while progress may be hampered by limited infrastructure and a lack of higher education and vocational institutions with qualified personnel in the country, the government is actively collaborating with scholarship departments and international partners to mitigate these skill gaps through the plan’s priorities.
Julie notes that her time as an Australia Awards scholar was a transformative experience that saw her expertise in management, public administration and information systems flourish. Julie further explains ‘collaborating with experts and colleagues broadened my perspective on complex challenges. Upon returning home, I applied these learnings to elevate my previous and current roles, fostering continuous improvement. I am also grateful for the opportunity to participate in Australia Awards alumni professional development workshops as an additional avenue for learning‘.
With this year’s Public Service Commission Day centred around the theme ‘Strengthening Government Decentralised Services through Innovative Approaches‘, Australia Awards alumna Julie Obed is playing a critical role in ensuring Vanuatu’s future workforce is equipped with the necessary skills to navigate the evolving employment industry.