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Specialist training programme developed to raise standards in delivery of public projects
Specialist training programme developed to raise standards in delivery of public projects
Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, Ossian Smyth TD, has today (Friday),announced the appointment of a consortium of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) and the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) to provide specialist training to public servants engaged in the delivery of the National Development Plan.
The training will be provided through the Office of Government Procurement’s Commercial Skills Academy and is the latest in a range of measures that Government is introducing to support the work of the public service in delivering publicly-funded projects.
Commenting on the appointment, Minister Smyth said: “the Commercial Skills Academy will be instrumental in driving the successful delivery of the National Development Plan and Project Ireland 2040. The training provided will greatly assist in raising standards across the public sector in the delivery of public assets and will support our Programme for Government commitment of transforming our approach to infrastructure investment.”
The overall aim of the Commercial Skills Academy is to provide public servants an understanding of key issues, commercial skills, and best practice approaches for effective project delivery throughout the entire lifecycle of the project.
This appointment forms part of a larger group of training options being developed by the Commercial Skills Academy in conjunction with advice from Government departments and delivery agencies. The overall programme will see the annual roll out of tiered training including self-directed learning, classroom-based learning, and masterclass and conference events.
The RIAI/SCSI appointment follows a competitive process and will deliver the entry-level training aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the delivery process and contract management.
This appointment will see the delivery of interactive classroom style training and will consist of three intensive training modules, each module being delivered over two full consecutive days. The contract allows for a number of iterations of the programme to be delivered each year.