Employment, Immigration and Civil Status Myriam Telemaque led a delegation on a working visit to the Savoy Resort & Spa yesterday.

The objective of the visit was to interact with staff, get to know their views, challenges as well as benefits being offered in their workplace.

Secondly the visit was aimed at ensuring a better understanding of the on ground operations of the workplaces and to see whether they are abiding by employment regulations.

Speaking of the visit, Employment principal secretary Jules Baker said that Savoy being a new hotel of only four years old faces challenges when it comes to staff and human resources management as staff have indicated some deficiencies in the area of communications and a proper management structure for reporting and feedback.

"Savoy is a very nice hotel and the staff are happy to work here but there are HR issues that need to be dealt with in the immediate, medium and long-term as they feel that decisions are being taken without the staff being informed," Mr Baker said.

He explained that this is a common problem in some of the establishments visited and appealed to all workplaces to establish better communication procedures between management, human resources and staff members.

"This will help establish a structure where the employees will feel comfortable to bring forward their difficulties, views, suggestions and recommendations as we have seen in many instances where employees with a lot of work experience do not have the leeway to contribute towards the development of the organisation," Mr Baker said.

Yesterday was Minister Telemaque's third visit for this year which forms part of a series of visits which she started last year after being appointed as minister.

The visits are aimed at establishing better contact between the employment department and the working establishments.

Last year, Minister Telemaque carried out twelve visits to various workplaces across Mahé, Praslin, La Digue and Félicité island such as Casino Liberte, Global Supplies Centre, Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA), Air Seychelles, Ile du Port Handling Services (IPHS), Constance Ephelia Hotel and Resort, Le Domaine de L'Orangeraie and Six Senses-Zil Pasyon Resort Ltd.

Mr Baker added that following such visits, there are follow up visits done by an employment technical team to physically assess what the minister and her delegation have seen and heard and then a written recommendation and deadline to rectify the problems is sent to the organisation.

"The dozen of visits we've undertaken have been very fruitful as we had a structured work plan and a set of recommendations for organisations to follow. So far some have given very good feedback on the recommendations put forward by the department while others are in the process or restructuring. I am 85% happy with the ministerial visits," Mr Baker said.

Members of the ministerial delegation on the visit to Savoy Resort and Spa also included special advisor Veronique Bresson, technical advisor Susan Morel, director general for labour relations Steve Monnaie, director for special employment programme Letimy Dookley and other senior employment officers.

85 youths get work skills through training schemes

Eighty-five young people have received their certificates after going through a skills development programme aimed at boosting their chances of securing employment.

The employment training programmes, which consist of both soft skills and on the job training, focus on different areas of employment, notably where there is shortage of labour in the country for example in the tourism industry, construction among others.

Every year three million is spent on the skills development programme to ensure that the participants acquire the necessary soft skills before they are placed in an organisation.

They received their certificates last Thursday during a ceremony at the International Conference Centre Seychelles (ICCS) in the presence of the Minister for Employment, Immigration and Civil Status Myriam Telemaque, the principal secretary (PS) for employment Jules Baker, the PS for youth and sports department Fabian Palmyre, the chief executive of the Agency for National Human Resource Development (ANHRD) Nadia Lauricourt, certificates recipients and parents along with other guests.

In his speech for the occasion, PS Baker said that such training is a learning process and is recognised to be very essential for the growth of the economy as well as increasing employment opportunities for job seekers.

"Youth unemployment remains one of the most challenging policy issues in the world today, because in many countries young people are still finding it difficult to secure a job and find one according to his or her own competencies and interest. The youth of Seychelles is also facing a similar challenge although we have recently observed an improvement regarding this situation. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the youth unemployment was 16.8 per cent in 2014 and in the second quarter of 2017 youth unemployment decreased to 11.8 per cent," he said.

He added that the government of Seychelles provides a lot so that the youths can have a better future.

"The progress made towards the position of the youths on the labour market today is due to various factors. The continued investment of the government of Seychelles in our youths, through various labour market policies and different schemes such as the skills development programme, has played a pivotal role. The participants are also provided with a training allowance, free bus and day care allowance to young mothers on the programme. This is an investment which increases the chances of participants remaining on the programme until the end and obtain the necessary skills and work experience for a future job," he said.

Orely Mothé, a student who has successfully completed the programme, stated that the training scheme provided her with all the necessary skills to tackle each challenge in her path.

"Currently I am working as an office assistant at ANHRD, the training provided me with better communication skills, ITC skills which will enable me to have a better future. It also gave me the motivation to go back to school, and in the future have my own small business," she said.

For the year 2016 to 2017, a total of 85 participants -28 boys and 57 girls -completed their training. The majority of the participants were trained in hospitality and customer service.

During the ceremony all the partners also received a token of appreciation from Minister Telemaque.

Those partners such as Kempinski, Hilton, Savoy, Laxmanbhai, Seychelles Breweries, Ephelia, Le Méridien Fisherman's Cove, Seychelles Postal Services, Abhaye Valabhji, Sunglower Daycare, Seychelles Tourism Board, Boat House and Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, have all gone the extra mile to ensure that the scheme is a success and contributes towards the future of the nation.

The ceremony also saw a video presentation on the success stories of the trainees where they expressed their appreciation of the programme as well as their achievement.

The Minister for Employment, Immigration and Civil Status, Miriam Telemaque, visited the Constance Ephelia Hotel and Resorts, as part of her ongoing program to synchronise the partnership between the ministry and the private establishments.

The Minister was accompanied by the Principal Secretary for Employment Department, Mr. Jules Baker, the Special Advisor for Employment Ms. Veronique Bresson, the Director General for Labour Relations Mr. Steve Monnaie and other officials from her ministry.

The delegation was led on a tour of the hotels facilities where they got the chance to interact with the workers in each department, of which most expressed their general satisfaction with their working conditions. Several issues related to service charge, salary package, and career progression were however raised.

During the debriefing with the management of the hotel, Minister Telemaque commended the establishment for maintaining a status amongst the hotels with more local workers than non-Seychellois and recognized the efforts made to improve the employees' work life balance by providing infrastructures like a kindergarten.

It was recommended that the management of the hotel considers the issues raised by the workers and that they review the remuneration packages that entail different pay grades to better compensate between work experience and education level. The General Manager, Mr. Stephenne Duchenne, said that it remains the spirit and core values of the Ephelia Group to find different ways and better incentives to retain staffs and create a learning environment to enable both personal development and on the job training.

The meeting closed with the Minister giving the assurance to Mr. Duchene, Mr. Orvilke, and the staffs of Ephelia of her ministry's support and to continue the dialogue to find solutions to the challenges raised to improve employee performance and employer relations.

The issues raised will be followed up in three months' time by labour inspectors.

Employment ministry calls for closer working dialogue with private sector

Employment, Immigration and Civil Status Minister, Myriam Telemaque has called for a closer working dialogue between workplaces and the Ministry with the aim of enhancing partnership with that sector of our economy.

Minister Telemaque launched the call during her visit to the Global Supplies Centre, based at the Free Trade Zone within the grounds of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) at Boise de Rose and that specializes in the importation and wholesale distribution of goods and other products sold to hotels, major tourism establishments and local retailers.

Accompanied by a delegation of senior officers from her Ministry as part of her on-going programme to enhance partnership with the private sector, Minister Telemaque was taken on a conducted tour of the premises and also met with the company's management and staff.

Issues raised by the staff focused on their monthly salaries, overtime, multi-tasking in their daily jobs, time-off requests to attend to their personal matters. The general observation after talking to the staff is that the company has been experiencing high staff turnover that have resulted on their heavy reliance on foreign workers.

In her meeting, Minister Telemaque explained that Ministry responsible for employment was taking a new approach to have a closer working dialogue and improve industrial relations within the private sector through consensual and understanding working relations for the betterment of workplaces.

"Today, my delegation and I have witnessed that you all work in a conducive and satisfactory working environment. The possibility for it to be further improved exist but that will come with both the management and staff coming together as a team and prepared to work closely with the Ministry responsible for employment," Minister Telemaque said.

She recommended with full assurance that her Ministry will provide its assistance to the management of Global Supplies Centre to work on an action plan in order to have in place a proper and effective human resource structure that will timely address issues that staff may have and determine a comprehensive localization of posts.

"My Ministry's vision is to ensure that there is good work relations between the employer and employee for the betterment of the company as the workforce contributes towards its commercial success" Minister Telemaque re-iterated.

On Friday the 18th of August 2017, a Ministerial visit was made to the Casino Liberte at Anse Petit, Baie Lazare by the Minister of Employment, Immigration and Civil Status Mrs. Miriam Telemaque along with a delegation which comprised of Special Adviser, Director General Labour Relations and Director General Employment Programmes.

The management of the establishment welcomed the Minister and her delegation with warm introductions. The Marketing Executive Mrs Irina Kravchenko Ettienne led a tour through the premises of the various sections and offices. During this tour the Minister and her team met with workers on duty which provided the opportunity the opportunity to interact with them.

The objectives of the Ministerial visits are to understand the challenges faced by the private enterprises, to share best practices in managerial methods, to recognise areas for improvement as well as appreciate effort and to synchronize the partnership between the Ministry and the private establishments.

After the tour of the premises, a meeting was held between the Ministerial delegation and the management of the Casino. This meeting is the normal procedure of such visits whereby concerns and observations made are discussed in order to bring about solutions.

Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development hosts second Human Resource Forum for the year of 2016

“The growth of every workforce depends on its Human Resource- develop it.”

The Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development hosted its second Human Resource Forum for the year on Thursday 18^th August 2016 at the STC Board Room. The Human Resources Forum is a platform for consultation, and the sharing of knowledge and best practices between Human Resource Managers and Directors from the private sector as a means of strengthening the partnership between the Ministry and the Private sector. 

The session was chaired by Principal Secretary Ms Veronique Bresson.

The programme of the day included three main presentations. The first one was about the Policy on Recognition of Prior Learning by Mr. Hubert Barbe, Director Seychelles Institute of Technology and Ms Joan Amade, Quality Assurance Officer of Seychelles Qualifications Authority from the Ministry of Education. The Policy was brought to the Forum as a means of consultation with the private sector to get their input in view that it is them who will be implementing it.

Mr. Barbe explained to the members of the forum what the RPL policy involves, the countries worldwide that have adopted this policy, when the manual was developed in Seychelles, what stage the policy is at and the activities the SQA has undertaken with regards to the policy. This also opened up an avenue for the members to clarify the ways in which this policy affects their organizations.

As the second presentation, the Principal Secretary Mr. Patrick Payet of the Ministry of Finance Trade and Blue Economy, presented the New Progressive Income Tax. This presentation was on the request of members of the Forum and it also served as a means of disseminating the information on the New Progressive Income Tax proposal in that it affected every organization represented in the Forum; members had deliberations as to how the New Progressive Income Tax would apply to them and their organizations. The PS circulated a document which displayed the categories and their tax calculations.

The Validation of the Evaluation of the Human Resource Forum was the third presentation. This Forum was established in 2012, there was necessity to conduct an evaluation for the 2012 to 2014 of which members and stakeholders were consulted. The validation was presented by Ms Rubya Pillay Senior Research Officer MLHRD.

Finally Ms Vanessa Dugasse, Acting Director of Labour Migration MLHRD, presented the revised Quota System which was put in circulation in August 2016. This presentation was brought to the Forum as a means of sensitizing the Human Resource Managers and Directors of the additions and exclusion made to the previous quota system. This was also an opportunity that they had to discuss these changes.

The rest of the meeting was spent in open discussion where members got the opportunity to raise various issues that they required clarification on from the Ministry or get the opinion of their colleagues. The next Forum is scheduled to take place in November 2016.

“Effective Human Resource Management is necessary for any business or organisation, as it concerns their most valuable resource – their people.”

The Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development held its final Human Resource Forum for the year on Thursday 20^th November 2014 at the STC Board Room. As a reminder, the Human Resources Forum is a platform for consultation, and the sharing of knowledge and best practices between the attendees.

The session was chaired by Principal Secretary Ms Veronique Bresson.

This latest edition of the Forum began with a presentation on the Employment Assistance Programme (EAP) by Ms. Yvana Theresine, Director of Drug and Alcohol Council. Ms Theresine took the opportunity to remind the attendees of the reasons the programme had been set up, such as employees struggling with problems like drugs and alcohol being unwilling to pursue treatment openly for fear of stigmatisation. She also emphasised that, while the EAP evolved out of the desire to help substance abuse victims, this is not the only area in which it can help. It can also render assistance in area such as legal advice, or various health and safety issues. The programme includes mechanisms for providing counselling, referrals, and other forms of assistance, advice, and information to employees on a systematic and uniform basis.

“The government wants the EAP to provide employees with a safe workplace,” Ms Theresine said.

She also stressed that adoption of the EAP is not mandatory and that many organisations already have their own employee assistance schemes in place that are working quite well. Ms Theresine extended an invitation to such organisations to share ideas with the people behind the EAP with the aim of making it a more efficient machine.

The second and final presentation of the day was by Ms. Susan Morel, Director of Planning and Policy Research at the Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development. Ms Morel discussed the issue of fair salaries and the step the Ministry of Labour is taking to ensure fair treatment for all employees.

The rest of the meeting was spent in open discussion on various issues the members wished to express. The next Forum is scheduled to take place in three months.