Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Branko Ruzic participated in the seventh session of the Council for professional development of local self-government employees, which was held today at the Council of Europe, and on the occasion, he emphasized that he is very pleased that at the beginning of his mandate he attends the session of the Council and can take the opportunity to personally meet the members of this body. The session was attended by the President of the Council and State Secretary in the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government, Ivan Bosnjak and Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Mission, Irina Sahakyan-Vetter.
“I would like to support you and emphasize the importance of your work thus far, but also to emphasize the continuity in the work of this Ministry, where the professional development of employees in the administration, especially the employees in local self-government units, is high on the agenda,” Ruzic addressed the members the Council and also added that the Act on Employees in Autonomous Provinces and Local Self-Government Units (LSGU), along with numerous reform solutions, provided for the formation and operation of such a Council for the professional development of employees in LSGUs.
The Minister emphasized that the professionalization and depolitization, continuous education and personal development of each employee has long been recognized within the European framework as a necessary prerequisite for the general social and economic development that must have its basis in developed local communities.
“Support packages that are part of the joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Human Resource Management in Local Self-Government”, implemented by the Council of Europe, provided for 20 pilot municipalities, already has given significant results in the implementation of the Act through job classification, staffing plans and set a good basis for the establishment of a new human resources management system at the local level, “said Minister Ruzic, and expressed his satisfaction that the first applications for accreditation of training program implementers will be considered at this session. He also mentioned that in parallel with the project yesterday a public call was published in Strasbourg to collect bids for the realization of 65 proposed training courses on the topics of the Act on General Administrative Procedure and the writing and implementation of projects.
At the end of his address, the Minister pointed out that he would also invest his authority in order to provide further continuous support to the process of establishing a human resources management system in the public administration through joint work, with all these experiences being necessary for the future successful and purposeful work of the National Academy for professional development.