Civil servants in Edo State have been urged to prioritise career advancement and explore opportunities to get trained for optimum service delivery to the people of the state.
The Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Lehmann, was quoted in a statement as saying this at a briefing organised by the Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor on Donor Agencies, Coordination, Mr. Emmanuel Sule, on Thursday at the Government House, Benin City, Edo State.
Represented at the briefing by Mrs. Adaora Ikenze, Mr. Lehmann stressed the need for continuous professional training, noting that opportunities abound for civil servants to learn through the scholarships about improved and more efficient ways to deliver public goods to the people.
Mr. Sule said the meeting was aimed at educating civil servants about the process of applying for training on scholarship in Australia, and to clear grey areas in the application process.
He admonished civil servants to “build their careers by acquiring relevant skills and knowledge of best-global practices in public service as there are scholarship opportunities that we can leverage to improve our people.â€
Present at the meeting were commissioners, permanent secretaries, and other senior government functionaries, including representatives of the civil society.
The priority areas for the scholarship, which opens from September 1 to December 15, are agricultural productivity, extractive and natural resource management, and public policy, especially those focused on governance and economic policy, including trade policy.
According to the statement, other sectors for which candidates can be accepted include education, environment, gender studies and health.