𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐍𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐮𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐢 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐈𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐨 𝐎𝐧 𝟏𝟒/𝟒/𝟐𝟓

Suva, Fiji – The Acting Commissioner of Corrections, Sevuloni Naucukidi delivered the opening address of the Administrative Skills Enabling Course this morning at the Staff Training Academy. The two weeks course is designed to upskill and reskill (24) participants performing the Reception Officers and Data Clerks duties in their respective correctional centres.

Recognizing the challenges confronted by FCS concerning the lack of expertise to improve proper administrative records for the staff and prisoners files, accurate recording of manual data in the designated registers and data inputs stored electronically, this course comes at a critical point when the need is more demanding than ever before. The Acting Commissioner reminded the participants, that a lot of work was needed to improve the cleaning, collection, recording and use of data at the corrections centre level. These data is “crucial to accurately maintain for compliance in line with our obligations under the regulatory reporting framework but fundamentally to use the same data to strategically align and interface the FCS aspirations towards the broader development agenda of the government of the day” said Acting Commissioner Naucukidi.

However, the participants were reminded that from experience the officers responsible have had to literally start from scratch each time a set of data was required and exemplified by the compilation of Annual Reports. This was due to the lack information available at the respective corrections facilities. That problem was the major motivation behind the decision to develop a short course to address the knowledge gaps and skills needed to improve our records capability as well as establishing a formidable database.

Moreover, the participants were encouraged to learn different modalities of data collection driven by the use of technology and through sharing of experiences to develop an effective flow chart process of data collection and retention. For capacity building purposes, the Acting Commissioner cautioned the participants to share the knowledge gained at the end of the course with their colleagues because “you can only give back what you have” so that others can learn to become confident doing the same work and emphasizing the importance of data collection, recording, retention and safe keeping.

The Acting Commissioner observed that the current state of our data maintenance strategy needs a lot of improvements and it was necessary to ask the hard questions to the individuals responsible of the significance, relevance and suitability of the kinds of information that they maintain. This is further compounded by the fact that “at times officers tend to be complacent in the way they execute their duties” said Mr. Naucukidi. The result of complacency could be reflected in the inaccurate and inconsistent outputs produced when the need arises.

To improve the quality of each officer’s work ethics Mr. Naucukidi suggested that, “it is the individual mindset and perception towards the values of commitment, honesty and diligence at work, which can make or break the quality of data produced. Furthermore, to encourage space for potential individual growth, the participants were reminded that the information emanating from the corrections centres contributes to building bigger goals of the FCS at the strategic level. The Acting Commissioner asserted, “that the participants should never believe that their work as data clerk or reception is unimportant but rather to understand that it could contribute to building innovative and creative strategies that would transform the Fiji Corrections Service into an adaptable organization moving forward”, said Mr. Naucukidi.

In the next two weeks, the participants are expected to return to their respective work stations equipped with the necessary skills to build confidence in order to carry out their duties to meet the expectations of their superior officers.