Luận văn thạc sĩ Quản lý công: Identifying training needs and proposing solutions of result-based training for district-level civil servants

IT skills for their work;+ 80 civil servants Bac Tra My: 26, Bắc Yên: 27, Bến Lức: 27 to speak a foreign language English Beside, The Authors show recommendations in order to improve civ

| UNIVERSITET 1=

MASTER THESIS

Identifying Training Needs and Proposing Solutions of

Result-based Training for District-level Civil Servants

Authors: - Phạm Van Hung

- Huỳnh Thị Thùy Dung

- Nguyễn Hoàng Giang Suporvisors:

- Local supervisor: Nguyen Khac Hung, Ph MCaD

- Uppsala supervisor: Lennart Wikander, UU

Class: MPPM, Intake 2, 165

Hanoi, September 2011

ẻ ĐẠI HỌC UPPSALA, THUY DIEN

UPPSALA TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KINH TE, DHQGHN

UNIVERSITET

XÁC ĐỊNH NHU CÀU VÀ ĐÈ XUẤT GIẢI PHÁP ĐÀO TẠO

THEO KÉT QUẢ CHO CÔNG CHỨC HÀNH CHÍNH

CÁP HUYỆN

Tác giả: 1 Pham Văn Hưng - Trưởng nhóm

2 Huỳnh Thị Thùy Dung - Thành viên

3 Nguyễn Hoàng Giang - Thành viên

Giảng viên: 1 Giang viên Việt Nam: TS Nguyễn Khắc Hùng, MCaD

2 Giảng viên Uppsala: Lennart Wikander

Lớp: MPPM Intake 2, 165

Hà Nội, tháng 9 năm 2011

1 Title Identifying training needs and proposing solutions of result-based training for district-level civil servants.

2 Level

Master thesis for MPPM

3 Authors

- Pham Văn Hưng

- Huỳnh Thị Thùy Dung

- Nguyễn Hoàng Giang

4 Supervisor

- Uppsala Lecturer: Lennart Wikander

- Vietnamese Lecturer: Nguyen Khac Hung, Ph MCaD

5 Date when the thesis is presented: September 1“, 2011

6 The Aim of Study

- The purpose of the thesis research is to create a change in training and training management from the traditional model to the modern approach, with focus on use of result-based management tools as the central objective of the change In addition, the group also aims to: create a change in the perception of the management bodies, managers of training; improve the quality of human

resources, creating leverage in economic development the local society and

avoid waste, "lost" in training.

~ To clarify the theoretical background of training need and result-based training.

- Identifying training needs and proposing solutions of result-based

training for civil servants of the three districts, period 2011-2015.

‘7 Method of Study:

The Authors study existing legal and regulatory documents on training

and retraining civil servants: Law on Civil Servants (2008); Decree 18/2010/NĐ-CP, ; consult some research and reports on civil servants training prepared by Ministry of Home Affairs; and, study summary reports on the number and quality of the civil servants and on the training activities conducted

in the three districts in question :

- Methods for gathering information interview: Interviewing 15 people/ per district, includes the following subjects: Chairman, vice chairman of district People's Committee, Head of Department of the Interior; Lecturer universities, training centers of political districts; specialist departments.

- Methods of analysis, synthesis, and comparison: Using the SWOT

technic to analyse the reality, identyfying capacity and required capability to

identify gaps to be supplemented.

- Consultation of experts: The group consults with professional instructor

of Vietnam and Sweden.

8 Result & Conclusions

During the study, the team has identified training needs and proposing

solutions, planning and training of administrative district (03 districts) in the period 2011-2015, including training plans for long term and short term based

on the needs, gaps of each title, work location of each agency or unit; The group also pays more attention to train of specialized oriented development, the areas

identified as key stages, a breakthrough in the socio-economic development of each district Specifics:

* Training plans for long term:

+ 37 civil servants (Bắc Trà My: 13, Bac Yên: 11, Bến Lite: 13) to gain

postgraduate degrees; (Trainning time: from 1,5 to 2 years)

+ 88 civil servants (Bắc Tra My: 37, Bắc Yên: 23, Bến Lức: 28) to gain

university degrees for their jobs and titles; (Training time: From 3 to 5 years)

is)

IT skills for their work;

+ 80 civil servants (Bac Tra My: 26, Bắc Yên: 27, Bến Lức: 27) to speak

a foreign language (English)

Beside, The Authors show recommendations in order to improve civil

servants’ quality of training in particular and improve the quality of human

resources in general.

9 Suggestions for future research

The thesis is carried out in district level civil servants of three districts,

This study focuses on training of professional and some skills such as foreign

languages, information technology.

lin the future, we shall study more in all districts of three provinces.

10 Contribution of the thesis:

- This study identified training needs and Proposing solutions of

result-based training for district-level civil servants, period 2011-2015.

- The agencies and other entities can apply the theory of the thesis to

identify needs and propose solutions and plans training for agencies and units.

- This is the first paper on research training as a result of the district

administrative officials in Vietnam.

11 Key words:

- Training

According to Vietnamese Dictionary (2005), the training is to turn someone into becoming qualified under the standards of behavior Ì.

Training is a process that influences a person so that the person can

ipprehend and grasp certain systematic knowledge, skills, techniques that

Vietnamese Dictionary (2005)

GENERaL THEORY ON CIVIL SERVANTS TRAINING,

TRAINING NEEDS AND PLANNING OF RESULT-BASED

TRAINING

1.1 Purposesand requirements of civil servant training

1.1.1 Purposes of civil servant training

1.1.2 Principles and requirements of civil servant training

1.2 Some concepts related to civil servant training and result-based

training need:

1.2.1 Training and Result-based training

1.2.1.1 Training

1.2.1.2 Result based training

1.2.2 Training needs and result-based training needs

1.2.2.1 Needs

1.2.2.2 Trainirg needs

1.2.2.3 Result-based training needs

1.3 The role and importance of identification of civil servants’

training need

1.3.1 The roleand importance of identification

1.3.2 The basi: for identification of civil servants’ training needs

1.4 Planning trientation for a result-based training of civil servants

Trang

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© 0 œ œ œ œ œ ©

11 12

AND IN THE THREE DISTRICTS, AND TRAINING NEED

ASSESSMENT FOR DISTRICT-LEVEL CIVIL SERVANTS,

2.2.1 The reality of the civil servants’ quality

2.2.1.1 The civil servants’ technical qualifications

2.2.1.2 Skills of information technology

2.2.1.3 Command of foreign languages

2.2.1.4 Political reasoning

2.2.1.5 Skills of state management

2.2.1.6 Results of classification and evaluation of civil servants

2.2.2 The reality of training and training management

2.2.3 SWOT Analysis of the reality

2.3.1 The basis of training need assessment

2.3.2 Advantages and disadvantages of training need assessment

2.3.3 Training need assessment for the three districts

2.3.3.1 Current competences

2.3.3.2 Expected competences to meet work requirements

2.3.3.3 Training gaps to be filled to meet work requirements

Chapter 3

TRAINING SOLUTION, PERIOD 2011-2015, FOR THE CIVIL SERVANTS OF THE THREE DISTRICTS

3.1 Basis and objectives for result-based training planning

3.1.1 Basis for training planning

3.1.2 Training objectives

3.2 Specific training plan

3.2.1 Training post-graduate degree holders

3.2.2 Training university degree holders

3.2.3 Training of skills of IT, foreign languages, and administration

3.2.4 Training of political reasoning

3.3 Proposal of solutions for result-based training and training

management

3.3.1 Solutions for result-based training

3.3.2 Solutions for result-based training management

3.4 Evaluation of the feasibility of the plan in practice

Officials and public employees

Education and training

People’s Council

Complete tasks

Complete tasks well

Complete outstanding tasks

Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs

Agriculture va Rural Development

Human resource (HR) training is one important activity that is always

cared and placed a top priority upon In the modern time, HR quality has

become a primary factor to ensure effectiveness in cooperation and competition

between nations A nation can enjoy sustainable development when every of its

intelligence potentials is promoted and the creativity of every member of the society is encouraged.

Identifying the importance of HR training in the state machinery and based on the practical requirements of the national renovation, the Vietnamese Government issued its Public Administration Reform in 2001, with a focus on four major contents, including reform and improvement of civil servants’

quality'

The three districts of Bac Tra My, Quang Nam Province; Bac Yén, Son

La Prcvince; and, Bến Lức, Long An Province, all determine that civil servant

training to meet the requirements of the national industrialization and

modernization is an urgent task in the current phase.

Attending the MPPM course, including, especially, the course subject on Humar Resource Management (HRM) in the public sector, we have learnt the models and knowledge related to this field, including HR training Comparing

the course models and theories with the practice in our country, we find that

civil sevant training the public sector of Vietnam in general and in the

district-level Teople's Committees in particular has not paid adequate attention to

connecion between training and outputs; some localities consider training a way

to stanlardize their civil servants with degrees and certificates; consequently,

the tecinical qualifications and competences of some civil servants have not met

the requirements of their current work.

Looking at the recent problems of the training management of the three district: in question, we have selected the study subject on “Identifying Traimiig Needs and Proposing Solutions of Result-based Training for

" DecisiorNo 136/2001/QD-TTG dated 17/9/2001 by the Prime Minister

District-level Civil Servants” in order to create a change in training

managenent from the traditional model to the modern approach, with focus on

use of result-based management tools as the central objective of the change.

This study shall focus on training activities for the untrained civil

servants of the three district in questions; the civil servants holding

middle-ranking junior college or higher education degrees that mismatch their title and

work pQsition, and those in need of improvement of their qualifications to meet

their đuies in the new phase; training of some skills such as foreign languages,

information technology, and state management for those civil servants still weak

at those fields The training shall be developed into a specific plan with three

major contents to be delivered between 2011 and 2015.

To carry out this study, we shall study related legal documents and

research, and use the theory of positive change, and SWOT, SMART to analyse

and idertify training needs as well as to propose the result-based training plan and soluion for the civil servants of the three districts.

Chapter Í

GENERAL THEORY ON CIVIL SERVANTS TRAINING, TRAINING

NEEDS AND PLANNING OF RESULT-BASED TRAINING

1.1 Purposes and requirements of civil servant training

1.1.1 Purposes of civil servant training

- To equip civil servants with knowledge, skills and methods to work; to

build a professional contingent of civil servants fer a modern advanced public

administration’

- To build professional civil servants who are politically strong and

technically good to build the modern advanced political system and the socialist

ruled by the law’

The purpose of civil servant training is therefore specified in each

development phase of the country, in order to build a contingent of civil servants

that car help achieve the political, economic, and social objectives of the nation Equipnent of work knowledge and technical and stage management skills will help build up civil servants who are professional, dedicated to work, good at

managanent activities, to meet the requirements of construction of a modern

professonal public administration Civil servant training in line with the

standarls of each corp of civil servants, job, and managerial post will help overcone the current gaps and limitations for effective performance and provisimn of frequent HR for public agencies.

1.1.2 Principles and requirements of civil servant training

Civil servant training must be based on relevant standards, titles,

positiors, duties, and cadre planning *

Civil servant training must be based on jobs, standards of a corp of civil

servant, standards of a managerial position, and human resource development(HRD) 1eeds of an organization®.

? Article 2 Decree No 18/2010/NĐ-CP.

* Decisiondo 1374/QĐ-TTg dated 12/8/2011 by the Prime Minister

* Article 2, The 2008 Law on Civil Servants

corp of civil servants to improve the training quality.

1.2 Some concepts related to civil servant training and result-based

ing needs

1.2.1 Training and Result-based training 1.2.1.1 Training

According to Vietnamese Dictionary (2005), the training is to tum

someone into becoming qualified under the standards of behavior °

Training is a process that influences a person so that the person can

apprehend and grasp certain systematic knowledge, skills, techniques that

prepare him for adjustment to life and taking up a certain labour that contributes

to social development, maintenance and development of mankind civilisation’

Training is a process of systematic transmission and reception of certain

knowledge and skills regulated for each educational levelỂ

For civil servants, training is a process that makes civil servants

apprehend and grasp systematic knowledge, skills and techniques that prepare

them for good adjustment to life and successful completion of their work.

1.2.1.2 Result-based training is a training form that is based on

practical needs and set objectives.

1.2.2 Training needs and result-based training needs

1.2.2.1 Need

A ?eed is a requirement to satisfy aspirations of one individual or

organizaticn in the society in one or many aspects of life and development.

According to Maslow, human needs are divided into two main groups: basic

needs and +igh needs.

This is a demand of competence improvement or development for

implementation of a task assigned to an individual or organization, and the

demand can only be satisfied through training.

This is a high-level human demand of perception, understanding and

competence development However, not all development needs can be met

through training For example, a civil servant may not satisfy the standards of

his title and corp and, in terms of training need, he should be sent to additional

training However, a deeper analysis shows that he is inactive at work because

of inadequate rewards and his dissatisfaction of the job, and it means that he can

do his job well with proper rewards, encouragement and work arrangement As a

result, his need of competence development will unnecessarily be realized

through training.

1.22.3 Result-based training need

This is also a form of training need, but it is associated with set

objectives and practical job requirements This need is specified in Article 3

Decree No 18/2010/NĐ-CP.

Traning must be based on the development needs of an organisation; a civil servart’s duties, job, standards of his corp of civil servants, and managerial title.

1.3 The role and importance of identification of civil servants’

training meds

1.34 The role and importance of the identification

Th¢ process of competence-based training:

Conpulsory training and retraining °

Work josition | Cd Basic knowledge Training

and type programme

Apjroach to competence \°

Wor Job analysis Required

environnent competences

'° Dr Nguyễn Kiắc Hùng, Mcad, Trainin] Training programmes Learning

and methods +——T_ obiectives

° Dr Nguyễn Kac Hùng, Mcad, TT |

Identification of civil servants’ training needs is to revise the competence

standards (i.e knowledge, skills, and attitude) of the civil servants, particularly

in this study, of the three district People's Committees of Bac Tra My, Bac Yén,and, Bến Lức, based on which to analyse and investigate the limitations,

standardization requirements, and their work aspirations The identified results

will serve as the basis for a proposai of a training plan in line with the titles,

positions, and needs of the organizations and individual civil servants that will

develop them to meet their duties and requirements in the coming time, in

avoidance of waste of resources.

We therefore shall identify the training needs of the civil servants working for the three districts, specifically the key civil servants of the district People’s Committees, the section managers and the experts and technical workers.

1.3.2.1 Expected competences to meet work requirements: These reflect the number of civil servants who have specialized knowledge that suit their positions and titles, and have good skills (i.e application of information technology and foreign languages, in this context) in their work This study shall focus on analysis of expected competences for their professions, application of

information technology, foreign languages, and administrative management.

1.3.2.2 Present competences include the current knowledge, skills and

attitude of the civil servants, which are shown in the statistical report on civil

servants’ quality by 2010 This study will analyse the compatibility between the

current competences and the current work requirements to find gaps, if any.

1.3.2.3 Gaps to be filled will be found through a comparison of expected and current competences After discovering the gaps to be filled, we shall

propose development of a primary training plan that includes trainees, training

programmes, training duration and form.

1.4 Planning orientation for a result-based training of civil servants

- We shall identify the specific trainees, their professions, training

duration and form for some positions and titles of the civil servants, in line with

the practical demands and based on the found gaps to be fields.

AND IN THE THREE DISTRICTS, AND TRAINING NEED ASSESSMENT FOR DISTRICT-LEVEL CIVIL SERVANTS,

PERIOD 2011-2015

2.1 The reality of the Vietnamese civil service and civil servant

training in Vietnam

The civil service of Vietnam was formed and has developed along the

birth and development of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the

Socialist Republic of Vietnam) Ordinance No 76/SL by President Hồ Chí Minh

provides that civil servants are those who hold permanent positions in

goverment agencies According to the Regulation on Civil Servants, Vietnamese civil servants are only available in government organisations According to the regulation on civil servants applicable to the whole nation after the country reunification in 1975, all the people who work for Vietnam

Communist Party (VCP), the State, the socio-political organizations, state

enterprises, public plantations and the armed forces were commonly called

“public cadres and employees” When the Ordinance of Public Cadres and Civil servants were issued in 1998, those who work for VCP and State organizations were commonly called “public cadres and civil servants” The 2008 Law on

Civil Servants provides that a civil servant is a Vietnamese citizen who is

recruited and appointed into a position or title in an organization of VCP, the

State, or a socio-political organization from the centre to the district level; or,

those who serve in an organization of the People’s Army but are not officers,

professional soldiers, or, military workers; or, those who works for an

organization of the People’s Police being neither officers nor non-commissioned

professional officers; or, those who work in a leadership or management of a

public se-vice organization of VCP, the State, the socio-political organizations Those people must be publicly fully employed and paid by the state budget.

Vietnam now has nearly 1.8 million public cadres, civil servants and public

service employees, including nearly 300,000 civil servants'' After 10 years of

the Public Administration Reform (PAR) Master Plan, period 2001-2010, the

Vienamese civil servants and public service employees have changed their

work attitude, style and competences to contribute positively to the

achevements of socio-economic development of-the country.

Over the past 10 years, some 4.8 million times of civil servants have

been trained of political reasoning, state management, professional knowledge, /ordgn languages, and information technology Between 2006 and 2008, 42,800 times of civil servants, public leaders and managers and 27,180 leading experts

in dl fields have been sent to overseas courses, which were 4.2 as many as the statstics of the period between 2001 and 2003.

The training and retraining contents for civil servants have been initially revsed to suit trainees The training programmes on state management for diffrent groups and levels of civil servants (i.e high-ranking, principal and ordnary experts, and technical workers) have been developed and gradually stardardized In addition, training methods have been reformed, and

impovement of the quality of the teaching staff has been attentively carried

out”,

However, the quality of civil servants has not met the expectations: 35% of the commune level civil servants have not been trained, especially of new knowledge of state management; only some 30% of the civil servants in statc-administrative agencies can work effectively.

30-Last but not least, civil servant training has not been linked to use of civil servants and thus caused wastefulness in training; sending civil servants to coiuses remains thin-spread and targets only at numbers of trainees; some are semtto training courses to fit their newly appointed titles; some public managers

! Dr,Nguyễn Khắc Hùng - 2010

'?Niguyễn Mạnh Cường, Department of Public Administration Reform, Ministry of Home Affairs, 2011

have not met their training standards; and, the training contents, programmes,

and materials remain outdated, overlapped, and still impractical.

2.2 The reality of the civil servant training quality in the three

districts

Bac Tra My is a mountainous district of Quang Nam Province in-Central Vietnam; Bac Yén is another mountainous district in Son La Province in

Northern Vietnam; and Bến Lức is a plain district in Long An Province, in

Southern Vietnam Although they are all made available to carry out a similar

mission of public administration and have similarities in terms of organizational

structure and operational machinery, each of them have its own strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities and challenges due to its corresponding natural

setting (i.e geographical setting, area, typology, population, etc.) and regional

-economic, cultural and social characteristics The tables and figures below on

the quality of the civil servants and the training management of the districts will

demonstrate the judgements above The tables and figures come from our

analysis of the evaluation results of the quality of the civil servants in the three

districts in 2010; their summary reports for the five-year implementation of

training activities and training management (2006 - 2010); and, the results of our

interviews of the stakeholders (See the Appendix).

2.2.1 The reality of the civil servants’ quality

2.2.1.1 The civil servants’ technical qualifications

Table 1: The technical qualifications of the civil servants in the three districts

| Total No Middle- Junior | University

Post-NO | Unit staff | technical | ranking college degree | graduate

| size degree degree degree holders degree

_| holders holders holders

3 10

(2.8%) (9.35 %)

5 (4 67%)

(78.50%) | (4.67 %)

Note: District People’s Committee = DPC

Figure 1: The technical qualification of the civil servants of the three districts

DPC of Bac Tra My DPC of Bac Yén DPC of Bén Lite

w No technical degree m Middle-ranking gq Junior college ( Graduate g Post-graduate

The table and figure above both reveal that the three districts have

different quality and number of civil servants though: the DPC of Bến Lức has

the biggest number of civil servants (107); the DPC of Bắc Trà My stands in the

middle (92 civil servants); and, the DPC of Bac Yén has the smallest number of

civil servants (81) The differences in the quality and number of their civil

servants come from their respective different natural setting and social,

economic, and cultural conditions In terms of quality, Bắc Tra My has the

highest number of civil servants holding no degree (09 people or 9.78%) while

Bến Lức and Bắc Yên have only 03 and 04 non-degree holders respectively

Although it has a lower percentage of non-degree holders, Bắc Yên has the

biggest number of civil servants holding middle-ranking degrees (17 people)

while the numbers of civil servants as middle-ranking degree holders are

roughly equal (11 and 10 in Bắc Tra My and Bến Lức respectively) Bắc Trà My

has the biggest number of civil servants as junior college degree holders (22

people) and Bến Lức has the biggest number of civil servants as university

degree holders (84 people) In general, all the three DPCs have few civil

servants as post-graduate degree holders, with Bến Lức having the biggest

number (5 civil servants) The analysis of the table and figure above helps

conclude that there are differences in terms of number and technical

qualifications of the civil servants working for the three DPCs.

2.2.1.2 Skills of information technology

Table 2: Skills of information technology

N Uni Total staff Untrained Trained with

Figure 2: Skills of information technology

DPC of Bắc Trà My DPC of Bac Yén DPC of Bến Lire

8 Untrained g Trained with certificates

Table 2 shows that compared to the other two districts, Bến Lức has the

highest number of civil servants having high skills of information technology

(85 out of its 107 civil servants having a degree or certificate in the field while

more civil servants of the DPCs of Bắc Trà My and Bắc Yên can not apply

information technology in their work (42.39 and 44.44% respectively) The

limitation of using computers and software makes it difficult for those civil

servants to access and update information, settle their work, and improve their

technical qualifications Those civil servants are mainly senior and untrained

cadres.

2.2.1.3 Command of foreign languages

N Unit | Total staff No foreign | One foreign Two

« m size | language language foreign

g None w One foreign language Two foreign languages

Compared to Bắc Yên and Bến Lức, Bắc Tra My has the lowest number

of civil servants who can speak a foreign language (English) The civil servants

of tle district who can speak English mainly work for its DPC Office, the Secton of Culture and Information, and the Section of Home Affairs, which ofter work with foreign partners Most of the district civil servants, however, can peak the languages of the local ethnic minorities, which account for some

60% of the district population In contrast, being a focal economic district of

Lon; An Province and located near Hồ Chí Minh City, one of the biggest andmost dynamic cities of Vietnam, Bến Lức has been attracting many foreign

invetments, so its civil servants are encouraged to learn and practise foreign

languages As a result, 80 out of the 107 people or 74.77% of the district civil

servants can speak at least a foreign language Although Bac Yén is a

mountainous district, the DPC has a relatively high percentage of civil servants

speaking English (43 people) The analysis shows that the number of civil

servants speaking foreign languages varies from district to district due to their

respective-characteristics.

2.2.1.4 Political reasoning

Table 4: Political reasoning of civil servants in the three districts

Total staff | Untrainea | Middle- High- | Bachelor

Unit size ranking ranking

Figure 4: Political reasoning of civil servants in the three districts

@ Untrained @ Middle-ranknggbreankingd3achelor degree

Levels of political reasoning form a necessary condition for appointment

of public managers (i.e vice section managers or higher positions) As of 30

December 2010, the DPC of Bac Tra My has had 21 of its civil servants holding

middle-ranking, high-ranking, or bachelor degree of political reasoning; while

Bắc Yên and Bến Lite have had 35 and 18 respectively The table and figure

above suggest that all the three DPCs have paid adequate attention to training

and retraining of political knowledge for their management.

2.2.1.5 Skills of state management

state management in the three districts

1 | Enerainea a Principal |

High-NO Unit Untrained | Ordinary |" experts | ranking

Note: * It is currently regulated that DPCs have no high-ranking experts.

Figure 5: Skills of state management in the three districts

DPC of Bac Tra My DPC of Bắc Yên DPC of Bén Lire

® Untrained 8 Expert O Principal expert ä High-ranking experts

Bến Lức has a high percentage of its civil servants graduating from

courses on state management: 80 ordinary experts (74.77%), and 12 principal

experts (11.21%) out of its 107 staff members, while Bac Tra My and Bac Yén

have relatively lower numbers of their civil servants holding certificates of similar courses (22 and 37 people respectively) The untrained civil servants of the three DPCs are mainly new civil servants and middle-ranking degree holders.

2.2.1.6 Results of classification and evaluation of civil servants

Table 2.2.1.6: Results of classification and evaluation of civil servants in 2010

| rotat staff | Excettent | Good Good but Bad

Figure 6: Results of classification and evaluation of civil servants in 2010

DPC of Bắc Trà My DPC of Bac Yén DPC of Bến Lire

wort; and, civil servants’ attitude of service to citizens Apart from those

coments, public leaders and managers are also evaluated with the following

coments: the results of the organizational activities that they are in charge of,

the:i leadership and/or management competences; and, their ability to gather and

uniite civil servants.

The evaluation and classification of civil servants in 2010 show that

about more than 30% of the civil servants have completed their duties

excellently, 60% have fulfilled their tasks well, and, about 10% of the civil

servants have either had limited competences or carried out their tasks badly.

The advantages of the civil servant evaluation and classification

mentioned above are their simplicity for widespread application to every civil

servant including public leaders, managers and ordinary experts However, the

evaluation method has a limitation: it remains general with subjective

judgements that do not reflect all the work results and dedications of civil

servants.

2.2.2 The reality of training and training management

The reports on five-year training results of the three DPCs show that the

training management activities of the three DPCs over the past five years have

been generally changed and transformed gradually positively, especially after

the enactment of the Law on Civil Servants Over the past five years, the DPC of

Bac Tra My has had 17 university degree holders and middle-ranking technical

degree holders, two post-graduate degree holders and 15 high-ranking political

degree holders among its civil servants Bắc Yên has had 26 civil servants

gaining their university and junior college degrees; 35 holding political degrees

(High-ranking degree: 11, Middle-ranking degree: 24); 20 civil servants going to

degree courses on state management (1 principal expert, 18 ordinary experts and

1 technical worker) Bến Lức has had 30 of its civil servants having university

and junior college degrees, 38 being trained of state management, and 14 of political training.

However, the civil servant training of the DPCs over the past time

remains thin-spread mainly to standardize their civil servants’ degrees and

certificates through both traditional and modern training methods, without

adequate attention paid to title-based, job-based training in line with practical demands The district Sections of Home Affairs, which advise the DPCs on

training management, have not realized their role and responsibility soundly and

still left different public organizations of the three districts to manage and

conduct training spontaneously without connection to training needs.

2.2.3 SWOT Analysis of the reality

Based on the analysis of the tables and figures above, we have seen the

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges in terms of quality of the

civil servants and the training management of the three DPCs, specially as

follows:

2.2.3.1 Strengths

- The common strengths of the three DPCs: The civil servants holding

university degrees account for more than 50%; the section or higher-level managers have been all trained of technical qualifications, state management and political reasoning The skills for IT application and foreign language speaking are relatively good in practice; the young civil servants have been

arranged in line with their respective training, easily adjustable to the

surroundings and new tasks, meeting the requirements of their assigned duties,

and increasing in percentage in technical agencies All the three DPCs have more than 30% of their civil servants being excellent at work each The training

management has been gradually paid more attention to and improved in depth.

The DPC leaders all pay attention to and facilitate their civil servants’ training to

improve their technical qualifications.

- The strengths of each DPC:

+ DPC of Bac Tra My: Compared to the other mountainous districts inthe same province, Bac Tra My has a relatively younger DPC leadership, aged

30 to 45, in this term (2011-2016), which includes key public leaders and

section managers, who have methodological training and basic competences.

This district is evaluated by Quang Nam Province to be one with breakthroughs

in personnel activities With this advantage, the district’s training and training

management activities in the coming time will be remarkably changed.

+ DPC of Bac Yén: Its leadership has been gradually made younger with

good technical qualifications and competences Apart from recruitment of fresh

graduates, the DPC has enhanced its civil servant training As a result, more than

70% of its civil servants are university degree or junior college degree holders

and some 40% of its civil servants are less than 35 years old This is a very big

advantage in organization of implementation of the DPC duties and further

improvement of its civil servants’ qualifications.

+ DPC of Bến Lức: Being a focus of economic development in Long An

Province, with high economic growth rate and attraction of many foreign and domestic investments; the district has paid much attention to civil servant training, human resource attraction, and addition of young competent civil

servants to improve the quality of its civil servants in general (35.51% of its

civil servants aged under 35; a high percentage of the civil servants as university degree holders and/or IT skills holders) The civil servant training and training planning have been well connected with civil servants’ titles and jobs.

2.2.3.2 Weaknesses

- The common weakness of the DPCs: Though improved, the civil

servant training of the three DPCs have not been really connected with the requirement of building a contingent of professional, modern civil servants to

serve the requirements of the national renovation The organization of

evaluation of civil servants’ competences remains general and sometime even merely formal, without specific quantitative criteria The evaluation has not been really connected with civil servants’ duties, authority and performance (because there have not been any specific evaluative criteria nor specific job description

as the basis for such evaluation) Apart from the advantages the young civil servants of the three DPCs can bring, their lack of practical experience, skills of state management, political reasoning, communicative skills, etc has had certain negative influences over the work performance of the DPCs In contrast, older and untrained civil servants have limited ability to use computers, speak foreign languages, knowledge of state management, etc.

- The weaknesses of each DPC:

+ DPC of Bắc Tra My: the DPC still has many civil servants who are

either untrained or middle-ranking degree holders while only a low percentage

of its civil servants are rated excellent at work Its training management remains

loose and impractical.

+ DPC of Bac Yén: Because it has nearly 26% of its staff being

middle-ranking degree holders and untrained (21/81), this is a big obstacle to

implementation of its duties Besides, it also has a big percentage of its civil

servants who can not apply IT effectively in their work (33.33%) In addition,

the ethnic cadres in its civil servants, especially the H’Mong and Dao, account

only for a few, so the effectiveness of the propaganda of VCP and the State guidelines and policies remains low.

+ DPC of Bến Lức: the DPC has not had a stable and professional

contingent of civil servants The civil servants’ qualifications and competences

have not been equal to the requirements of their duties, and they are limited in

many aspects (knowledge and competence of state management of social affairs,

market economy, laws, administration, work skills and ability to apply modern science and technology in management activities).

2.2.3.3 Opportunity

- The common opportunities of the three DPCs: Globalisation and

international integration have been favouring Vietnam in learning experience of other countries in HR management, including management of civil servant training In addition, the new laws and state regulations have supported title- based and job-based training, and this is the foundation for result-based civil

servant training Moreover, the authorities managing civil servants have been

aiming to build civil servant training plans in connection with socio-economic

development tasks, appreciation of quality improvement and effective use of civil servants (title-based training and job-based training) A set of evaluative criteria for the whole personnel process ranging from planning, recruitment, use,

to transfer, promotion, and appointment has been perfected Civil servants have

been assigned to many different fields of duties so that they can access more

information, have new duties and requirements, and learn many skills This period gives civil servants an opportunity to improve their qualifications,

competences and perfect themselves.

- Opportunities of each DPC:

+ DPC of Bac Tra My: The District VCP Resolution for the period of

2010 - 2015 has stated, “Focus shall be placed on building a contingent having strong political viewpoints, healthy ethics and lifestyle, no corruption or wastefulness, having innovative and creative thoughts and technical knowledge that meet the requirements of development; having a sense of solidarity, cooperation, sense of discipline, and scientific work habits The district must have a policy to attract talents to serve the cause of its socio-economic

development All the steps of recruitment, evaluation, planning, training and

retraining must be implemented consistently to gain quality” In that light, the district will base on the central and provincial policies on investment to construct its material facilities and resources, including development of its

human resources Besides, the district will inherit and promote its recent results;

gradually overcoming its weaknesses in training and training management; making a civil servant training plan in a roadmap and connection with civil servants’ titles and jobs The district is sending 300 of its high-school graduates

to universities across the country to learn disciplines suitable for its practical '

demands They will be the future source of civil servants for the district in

general and the DPC in particular.

+ DPC of Bac Yén: The province and the district have paid more

attention to the civil servants, especially in civil servant training to improve the qualification and competences of the civil servants Over the past years, the

province has regularly coordinated with different universities in training its

resources and district/commune civil servants This is a good opportunity for the district civil servants who have not met their standards of qualifications to improve their competences and meet the requirements of their duties in the new

phase.

+ DPC of Bến Lite: Because the district is an economic focus of the

province, every civil servant must train himself to meet the requirements of their duties well The district has been following a training plan until 2015 for some

58 resource civil servants of the district and communes This will meet the

requirement of socio-economic development of the district both quantitatively

and qualitatively.

2.2.3.4 Challenges

- The common challenges for all the DPCs: The high economic growth

rate and international integration require the civil servants to have relevant

competences and qualifications to carry out their work well in the new phase In

addition, the annual budget for civil servant training remains limited, and the

number of civil servants sent to training courses is limited, too Settlement of

duties through computer networks poses another challenge to older and untrained civil servants, who have limited skills of IT and foreign languages That the civil servants working for different district sections have uneven qualifications and some do not meet their work requirements negatively affects

the effectiveness of their work and coordination between different units.

Besides, civil servants’ too low salary to cover their daily expenses and support

to their family and economic instability also form other challenges for the civil

servants of the three districts in the current period.

- The challenge of each DPC:

+ DPC of Bac Tra My: The staff size of civil servants for technical

operations remains less than required by the work demands; the quality of some

civil servants have not met the work demands in practice; and, there is a low

percentage of the civil servants who can apply IT in their work.

+ DPC of Bac Yén: The national industrialization, modernization and

integration into the world economy require the civil servants to have a good

command of foreign languages and knowledge of integration, but many of them

have limited skills of IT, foreign languages and technical qualifications.

+ DPC of Bến Lite: The work pressure has been increasing quickly due

to tie requirements of the local socio-economic development in this industrial

distict The requirement of settlement of work through computer networks is a challenge to untrained and older civil servants who have limited skills of IT and foregn languages.

Our analysis of the reality of the civil servants and civil servant training

above indicates the following problems: the civil servants of the three DPCs

have not all met the state requirements of the national industrialization,

mocernization and integration into the world economy that ask to further improve their competences In addition, the civil servant training over the past years have not been need-based while remaining much problematic.

2.3 Result-based training need assessment for district civil servants,

period 2011-2015

2.3.1 The basis of training need assessment

- The related legal regulations on civil servants;

- The reality of the civil servants’ qualifications;

- The organizational structural change of the DPCs;

- The promotion planning of civil servants from 2011 to 2015 (that is, to

identify the number of civil servants selected to be trained of both professional

and political contents in preparation for their future promotion);

- The standards of corps of civil servants;

- The quality of the civil servants’ work in 2010;

- The results of our interviews (See interview questions in Appendix )

and our observation and analysis of the work of the DPC sections.

2.3.2 Advantages and disadvantages of training need assessment

2.3.2.1 Advantages

- The training need assessment (TNA) is favoured by the formula menioned in a previous section.

- The three DPCs in questions are all district administrative agencies,

whose mission is all management of actions related to public administration.

- The district and section leaders have gradually realized the role and

position of TNA Over the past years, the civil servant training conducted by the

DPCs did not base on specific training needs so that wrong courses were given

to wrong people in waste of time, money and efforts because their work was not

improved in practice.

- There has been a change in civil servants’ thinking about training Civil

servants, especially younger ones, are eager to learn and dynamic considering training both their rights and duties So training needs will create a movement that help civil servants improve their competences.

2.3.2.2 Difficulties

- Although there is a formula to calculate training needs, it is still too

general for measurement.

- Though the three DPCs have much in common, their different setting in three different parts of the country makes them have different strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats As a result, TNA must be based on the characteristics and requirements of each district.

- Some civil servants have not perceived clearly the importance of TNA,

thinking that TNA is mainly to help them gain sufficient criteria for their title and rank only.

- There have not been specific criteria to evaluate civil servants’ degrees

of task fulfilment, so it is difficult to identify gaps between expected and actual

competences as the basis for TNA.

2.3.3 Training need assessment for the three districts

2.3.3.1 Current competences

- Current competences that meet work requirements

Table 7: Current competences that meet work requirements

[ | Classification in terms of training level

| No of

L_ ee

| Total | excellent

staff | ¢ No of No of civil | No of civil

Unit Size | servantsin | graduate and | servants able servants

| 2010 | postgraduate | to apply IT speaking

degree holders | in their work | foreign applying languages at technical work knowledge to

pec of Bén Lite 107 85 80 wats %) | pase %) (79.44 %) | (74.77%)

Note District People’s Committee = DPC

Figure 7: Current competences that meet work requirements

| DPC of Bắc Tra My MDPC of Bắc Yên GDPC of Bến Lức

Total staff Excellent Good Good IT Good command of

staf! professionals appliers foreign language

Technical qualifications

- Current competences that do not meet work requirements

Table 8: Current competences that do not meet work requirements

Classification in terms of training level

No of civil | No.of | No of civil] No of civil | No of Total | servants | middle- | servants | servants | untrained

staff | fulfilling | ranking/ | havingnot| unableto | cỉvil |

their college | applied IT | speak servants

duties degree | fully in their| _ foreign

Unit | normally | holders not | — work languages

| | or badly in | fuly

| | 2010 | applying to

| their work

Total staf! Ordinary/badHaving not Having not Unable to untrained

‘Task futfiing Fully applied used IT Speak foreign

Training to well at work Languages work

Technical qualifications

2.3.3.2 Expected competences to meet work requirements

Table 9: Expected competences to meet work requirements

7 Training to meet work requirements

T

Total | No of civil| No of civil No of civil | No of civil

staff size | servants to | servants to have servants to servants to Unit have post- | university degree have IT be trained of

| | graduate in line with their | skills for | foreign

| degrees | jobide their work | languages

aDPC of Bên Lire

~ Task fullingFully appledSkils command

‘Education to of foreign

work language Technical qualifications

2.3.3.3 Training gaps to be filled to meet work requirements

Table 10: Training gaps to be filled to meet work requirements

Training needs to meet work requirements

Total | post- University | IT Skills for Foreign

staff | graduate degree work language skills

Unit degree holders in | settlement :

holders line with

title and job

8DPC of Bắc Trà My 8DPC of Bắc Yên

0DPC of Bến Lức

Total staff Post-graduatesGraduates Having IT skills Speaking foreign

languages

Technical qualifications

Based on the evaluations and analyses above, we have identified the gaps

in technical qualifications, IT skills, and foreign languages of the civil servants

working for the three districts of Bắc Trà My, Bắc Yên, and Bến Lức We will

accodingly propose a training solution for period 2011-2015 so that the civil

servents can improve their knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of

their work in the coming time better.

Chapter 3

TRAINING SOLUTION, PERIOD 2011-2015, FOR THE CIVIL SERVANTS OF THE THREE DISTRICTS

3.1 Basis and objectives for result-based training planning

3.1.1 Basis for training planning

Planning of civil servant training in a result-based approached must be

based on:

- The need of number, type of civil servants, training subjects, forms and

duraion;

- The standards of titles, managerial positions, corps of civil servants,

and te work requirements in practice;

- The training need assessment.

3.1.2 Training objectives

- Overall objective: To train civil servants in proper numbers and

structures to meet practical needs and towards being professional and modern;

To build good quality and competences of civil servants to dedicate to national

development and service of citizens.

- Specific objectives: Between 2011 and 2015, to provide training and

retraining of the civil servants in the three districts with the following objectives

and criteria:

+ 37 civil servants (Bắc Trà My: 13, Bắc Yên: 11, Bến Lức: 13) to gain

postgraduate degrees;

+ 88 civil servants (Bắc Trà My: 37, Bắc Yên: 23, Bến Lức: 28) to gain

university degrees for their jobs and titles;

+ 88 civil servants (Bắc Tra My: 39, Bắc Yên: 27, Bến Lite: 22) to have

IT skills for their work;

+ 80 civil servants (Bắc Trà My: 26, Bắc Yên: 27, Bến Lức: 27) to speak

a foreign language (English)

3.2 Specific training plan3.2.1 Training post-graduate degree holders hii+ Number of trainees: 37

+ Possible candidates: key leaders of the three DPCs; managers and

ordinary experts being university degree holders in their fields and working in

such sections as Finance & Planning, Home Affairs, Natural Resources and

Environment, Education, Health to improve their management and professional

skills.

+ Training duration: 1.5 — 2 years.

+ Training forms: full-time, as follows:

Overseas courses: applicable to civil servants having a good command

of English (6.5 or higher scores of IELTS);

Joint programmes between domestic universities and their prestigious

foreign partners;

Courses provided by prestigious domestic universities.

+ Training disciplines: Depending on the duties and practical demands of

each district, and with a main focus on the following discipline: Human

Resource Management and Development, Public Management, Public Finance

Management, Management of Natural Resources, Educational Management,

+ Training duration: 3 — 5 years.

+ Training forms: In-service, specifically as follows:

Training to university degrees for civil servants holding junior college

degrees in line with the current jobs;

Training university degrees for civil servants holding middle-ranking degrees in line with their current jobs;

Training university degrees for civil servants having no degree at the

moment, aged under 35 for females, and under 40 for males; who may apply

them in practice of their work and show development prospects.

+ Training majors: based on the needs of each district.

3.2.3 Training of skills of IT, foreign languages, and administration

These skills are supplementary and equally important in administrative

activities, especially in the current trend of integration and globalisation.

+ Number of candidates: Depending on practical needs of each district

~ Possible candidates: Civil servants lacking or being weak at those

skills

~ Training duration: as delivered by training institutions

~ Training forms: Full-time; in-service; specifically as follows

Opening evening courses on IT and foreign languages in collaboration

with the district centre for continuing education;

Delivering courses on administrative skills in the districts or the

training institutions in collaboration with the respective Provincial Departments

of Home Affairs, the Provincial Political Schools, and the National Academy of

Public Administration;

Those who will be sent to post-graduate courses must have satisfactory

IELTS or TOEFL scores required by foreign training institutions;

Civil servants are encouraged to study on their own to improve their qualifications.

(It is regulated by the state that civil servants from the majority of

Vietnam (Kinh) in Bắc Yên and Bắc Trà My, ethnic-minority dominant districts,

shall learn the minority languages Apart from improving the civil servants’ command of English, the two districts will provide a training plan for their civil servants to learn minority languages in the localities to do their work better).

3.2.4 Training of political reasoning Based on the resource planning of future leaders and managers, civil servants will be sent to political courses (first for civil servants as vice section

managers or higher positions having not met their standards).

' 3.3 Proposal of solutions for result-based training and training

management

3.3.1 Solutions for result-based training

- Propagandized, mobilize and encourage civil servants ineligible for training to retire early under relevant regimes.

- Recruit holders of university degrees and relevant certificates for jobs

at the DPCs.

- The DPCs must balance their budget for annual training activities and take use of central and provincial training projects to send their civil servants to

training courses.