Hon Paul J. Lewis Represented Montserrat at the 2019 Commonwealth Human Resources and ICT Forum

Montserrat was recently represented at the 2019 Commonwealth HR & ICT Forum in London, UK, from 19th – 20th February, by the Minister responsible for Communications on the island, Hon Paul J. Lewis.

The 2019 Forum, was hosted by the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation (CTO).  

Some of the key topics that were down for discussion included:

• Digital HR

• Recruitment and selection

• Social and online media

• Future of skills and employment

• Sustainable leadership

• Communication and productivity

The forum's aim was "to provide participants with an opportunity to discuss and exchange knowledge on how to restructure processes to benefit the growth of HR professionals and human capital at large."

Whilst at the Forum in London, Hon Lewis Chaired a session that looked at the issue of "ENSURING INDUSTRY STANDARDS IN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT". 

Within this session, the Minister engaged his counterparts in the areas to do with such topics as "Gender equality and empowerment of women through ICTs" and also "Digital skills in the workplace and the training and opportunities that is provided to both adults in the workplace and also to those who are currently out of work looking to enhance their chances of being employed."

The welcome address at the Forum was delivered by Oscar Tapp-Scotting, Deputy Director, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, from the UK. He mentioned that, "The future of the Commonwealth depends on its one billion young people to deliver a more prosperous, secure, sustainable and fair future. I'm sure this event will provide a great opportunity to build links between us to provide young people with the opportunities and training in obtaining a wide range of digital skills."

The keynote address was given by the Rt. Honourable Patricia Scotland QC, Secretary-General, Commonwealth Secretariat.

Secretary-General Scotland stated; "According to management experts, 80% of organisational effectiveness depends on systems and only 20% on people... the fact is good organisations have good systems. These systems bring out the best in the people. To repeat, 80% of organisational effectiveness depends on systems and only 20% on people."

Other invited guests who addressed the forum included Sharvada Sharma, Solicitor General, Acting Permanent-Secretary for Communications, Information & ITC, Government of Fiji and Chair of the Executive Committee; Rt. Honourable Mohamed Rahman Swaray, Minister of Communications, Sierra Leone.

This year's forum was held under the theme; "Streamlining Organisational Development."