Palestinian civil servants complete training courses in information technology supported by UNDP – UNDP press release

UNDP and the General Personnel Council Graduate Civil Service Employees in Information Technology

Ramallah, 15 May 2014 – The General Personnel Council (GPC), in cooperation with Al-Quds Open University and the United Nations Development Programme held a graduation ceremony for Palestinian civil servants who completed training courses in information technology.

The main objective of the courses was to train 50 civil servants, 10 of whom were women, in Java, Linux and Oracle, as part of GPC’s efforts to develop a Human Resources Management Information System (HRMIS) in cooperation with relevant ministries.

Chairman of the GPC, Musa Abu Zaid, expressed his thanks to Al Quds Open University for the important role it plays in youth education, and UNDP for their continuous support to the development of state institutions. “It is important for us to invest in Palestinian human capital as an essential resource for the State of Palestine. Several programmes and trainings will be available to develop the capacities of civil servants in order to provide quality service to the community,” Abu Zaid explained.

The General Personnel Council (GPC) and UNDP have a strategic partnership since 2007, which resulted in the training of over 800 senior civil servants. This partnership is part of UNDP’s efforts to strengthen the capacities of governance and public administration institutions to fulfil statehood functions. In addition, UNDP supported the development of the first participatory GPC Strategic Plan 2014 – 2016 and the establishment of the GPC interactive web-portal.

Mr Frode Mauring, UNDP Special Representative of the Administrator said that UNDP is pleased to be a trusted development partner with the Government, and the General Personnel Council in particular, in supporting the State-building agenda. “We live in an information age that is continuously experiencing growing levels of connectivity. The IT training is a fundamental component in the management of human resources and the use of 21st century tools will ensure the future of Palestinian civil service,” he added.

Mr Musa Abu Zaid, Chairman of GPC, Dr Younis Amer, President of Al Quds Open University and Frode Mauring, UNDP Special Representative of the Administrator attended the ceremony, which took place on 15 May 2014 at the GPC office in Ramallah.

Contact Information

For further information, please contact:

Dania Darwish, Communications Specialist, Tel. +972-2-6268229 – e-mail: dania.darwish@undp.org. For more information on UNDP/PAPP see http://www.ps.undp.org.