JOANN DAVID had no preconceived notions about the Ministry of Labour’s On-The-Job (OJT) Division when she joined the programme as its director in 2019.
But she was not oblivious to the views of many in the public domain either.
“Upon entry in 2019, I felt the public perception in a high degree was that this was just another programme of the government that was not achieving its mandate, that it was a programme that had political influence and you had to know someone to get selected,” she told WMN.
But David said she quickly realised this was not the case.
“The systems were in place for opportunities for all who qualified.”
She also noticed that the objectives of the OJT were in sync with her own beliefs.
“I was always an advocate and supported the notion that the knowledge and experience that young graduates can achieve from their engagement with the programme will have a positive impact on their personal and career development.”
David said her own daughter is a case in point.
David's daughter graduated with an associate degree in tourism management from the Trinidad and Tobago Hotel and Tourism Institute in 2018 and subsequently entered the OJT programme to gain work experience.
She later went on to pursue a Bachelors’ degree in international tourism management at the UWI, St Augustine, in 2019 and is now employed with the Tourism Trinidad Limited.
“She was a shy individual and her interpersonal skill and communication skills was much improved subsequent to her OJT experience, which impacted both her UWI experience and her ability to gain sustainable employment subsequently.”
But there’ve been many other success stories under David’s watch over the past four years – and even before – not just in the areas of interpersonal development and skills training but holistically, across the programme’s various initiatives.
It’s the main reason why she decided to put the OJT up for consideration for the President’s Award for Innovation and Service Excellence (PrAISE), which recognises the outstanding contributions of institutions and initiatives within the public sector.
[caption id="attachment_1048247" align="alignnone" width="682"] OJT Division director Joann David says she has the support of her management team and other staff members to ensure the programme continues to perform at optimum levels. -[/caption]
The award was launched in 2018 by the Inter-American Development Bank under the patronage of former president Paula-Mae Weekes. It seeks to bring visibility to public sector agencies and organisations that demonstrate innovation and service excellence.
The OJT has been short-listed in two categories – service excellence in the public service and people’s choice. It is the first time that the programme has been nominated for the prestigious award.
“I felt that based on the hard work of the division over the last four years, the support that the trainees provided during the covid19 period to the public service agencies and the general purpose and impact of the programme on national de
