Road Town, Tortola - A cross-section of Government’s senior and middle managers are now better equipped to make sound career and financial plans after the conclusion of a two-day workshop focused on the subject.
The Department of Human Resources’ (DHR) Benefits and Strategic Succession Planning Units partnered to host the two-day workshop entitled, Career and Financial Planning: Achieving Your Highest Priorities, to equip the officers with tools and techniques to make better plans for their finances as well as their careers.
Participants gained a better understanding of the importance of budgeting, managing spending and controlling debt; planning ahead and developing a financial planning checklist for retirement; building wealth through investing, borrowing wisely and the development of passive income streams; building a financial safety net to protect finances against risks; keys to successful career planning; planning ahead for their career development; building a career ladder to achieve their career goals and building a solid foundation for career advancement among other topics.
Director of Human Resources Mr. David Archer speaking at the opening ceremony said most persons in the Virgin Islands are asking if we are really in a financial crisis.
He shared, “We have fared better than some of our Caribbean and private sector counterparts, however; the time is here where we are speaking about the seriousness of the impact. We are not here to alarm you but to prepare you.”
Mr. Archer advised the participants to spend carefully, “Still spend, but think again, because while we want to ensure that the Virgin Islands survives whatever is happening, we want to ensure that public officers are best prepared and that is very critical. At the end of the day, we are here to provide a service to the public and if you are not here to provide that service to the public then we are in some serious trouble.”
Mr. Malcolm Kirwan, Business and Training Consultant from the United States Virgin Islands facilitated the workshop and told the participants, “Each of us want to live a quality of life for ourselves and our family. There is an important relationship within the quality of the life we live and financial security. Financial security is key but it is not something that happens by chance, it is something that we have to plan.”
Human Resources Managers for Strategic Succession Planning and Benefits, Ms. Kaisa Penn and Lisa Donovan also made brief remarks at the opening ceremony.
The mission of the Department of Human Resources is to provide effective human resources management, leadership, and support for a vibrant world-class public service.
British Virgin Islands News