I am advised that my Department supports the continuous professional development of all Departmental staff and does not distinguish between civil servants and non civil servants. Staff attendance on particular programmes or courses is based on an annual Learning and Development Plan which outlines my Department's key learning and development priorities, based on business needs.
As my Department was initially formed on 2 June 2011, the first year for which full year figures are available is 2012. The number of staff who attended continued professional development programmes and courses, the providers, and my Department's total annual expenditure on same, are set out in tabular form below for the period 2012 to date in 2017. It should be noted that, for the period 7th July 2016 to 31 July 2017, this includes details for staff who transferred, in 2016, into the newly configured Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, and left in 2017, to join the newly formed Department of Rural and Community Development.
The subject areas of all courses and programmes provided from 2011 to 2017 are as follows
- Core skills: Leadership Development and People Management, Core Skills for Executive and Clerical Officers, Civil Service Disciplinary Code and Managing Underperformance, Presentation skills, Coaching, Chairing meetings, Minute Taking, Policy Development and Regulatory Impact Analysis, Legislative Process, Freedom of Information, Project Management, Social Media
- Health and Safety: Manual Handling, Fire Safety, Occupational First Aid, Firearms Safety, Safe Pass, Safety Representative, Rifle Users training, Pesticides Use, Chainsaw Use, Evacuation Chair, Driver CPC, Off Road Dumpers, Tractor Driving, Trailer Towing, Mountain Rescue Skills, Deep Sea Survival, Conflict Resolution, Defibrillator and Cardiac First Responder, Conservation Repair, Photography; Tree Survey & Inspection
- Irish Language Skills at various levels
- Corporate, HR and Financial: Records Management, Child Protection, Data Protection, Understanding Financial Reports of Public Bodies, Financial Management, Bookkeeping and Accounting, ICT courses, E-Tenders, Procurement, Public Spending Code, Audit Skills, Identifying fraud, Workplace Investigations, Employee Law, Human Resources, Interviewer Board training, Interviewee Preparation, Pensions administration
- Subject areas of academic programmes undertaken by staff and supported by the Department: Environmental Management/Conservation/Sustainability, Horticulture, Ecology, Biology, Irish language and literature, Linguistics, Language Planning, Architecture/Architectural conservation, Urban planning, Records Management and Information Rights, Archival Studies, Genealogy, Archaeology, Accounting, Finance and Information Systems, Audit Skills, Business Studies, Computer Studies, GIS, Museum Studies, Leadership and Strategy, Policy Analysis, Public Management, Human Resource Management, Governance, Civil Service and State Agency Studies, Project Management, Managing Change, Technical Writing, Data Protection Practice, Law, Marketing, Psychology.
For completeness, a list of conferences and seminars attended by staff in my Department between 2011 and 2017 is also attached as a separate file. The diversity of courses undertaken reflects the broad range of work undertaken by my Department. It should be noted that it is anticipated that the Department's core training needs will be increasingly met from a shared Learning and Development Service for the Civil Service in 2018 and beyond.
Seminars
