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Human Resources Development, as adopted in the Jakarta Plan of Action on Human Resources Development in the ESCAP region, is defined as a virtuous cycle of: investment in human resources to enhance productive capabilities; utilization of those human resources to produce increased/higher output; and consumption by those human resources of the benefits arising out of that increased/higher quality output, thereby leading to an enhanced quality of life. ESCAP’s mission in the field of HRD is to strengthen national capacity to plan and deliver HRD services to the people of Asia and the Pacific. This is done through the development of institutions and the enhancement of government performance to promote HRD. The premise of ESCAP’s work in this field is based on the conviction that training of social development personnel is a form of investment in human resources with possibly the greatest multiplier effect. Utilization of the value -added service of trained social development personnel, in their capacity as service providers, will result in an enhanced quality of life for a large portion of the population. With this in mind, ESCAP in 1997 developed the ESCAP HRD Series on Training for Development, a regional training programme for social development personnel working in four key areas: poverty alleviation, gender and development, youth work, and children in especially difficult circumstances. These short-term professional training courses would be addressed for both policy-makers as well as those at the programme management level. The development of the ESCAP HRD Series on Training for Development has been the basis of much of ESCAP’s HRD work over the past few years. In July 1999 ESCAP will be launching the ESCAP HRD Course for Poverty Alleviation. The objectives of the Course are: 1) to promote awareness among policy-makers and senior officials of the latest social development thinking, and concepts and practice; and 2) to enhance the knowledge and skills of programme managers in poverty alleviation project/programme design, implementation and evaluation. With funding from the Government of Japan and the Government of the Netherlands, 11 Modules have been developed. The first three Modules, comprising the Core Curriculum, are designed for senior-level policy-makers, while the remaining eight Modules, focusing on poverty alleviation techniques, are targeted at programme/project managers. Each Module can stand by itself as a training programme. Together, however, they comprise a complete package of the necessary knowledge, skills and tools required for the successful implementation of poverty alleviation programmes. The Course has been designed to be flexible; different Modules can be chosen and packaged together according to the needs of the targeted participants. Many of the authors of the Modules are from member institutions of the ESCAP Network of Centres for Excellences for HRD Research and Training in Asia and the Pacific. In addition, with funding from the Christian Conference of Asia through the Evangelische Zentralstelle fur Entwicklungshilfe (EZE) of Germany, ESCAP has launched a series of HRD training course for youth work personnel in the region for the ESCAP HRD Courses for Youth Development. Currently being field-tested through the implementation of the training course, the curriculum focuses on the youth situation and development challenges in the ESCAP region, the national youth situation, and programme management skills for development projects. Lastly, ESCAP is now in the process of developing a curriculum and other training materials to enhance the capacity of social service and health professionals in dealing with sexually abused and exploited children. Funded by Sida and the Government of Japan, this three year project began in 1998 with national-level research conducted on the situation of sexually abused and exploited children and youth in 12 countries of the ESCAP region. National training needs assessment workshops are now being held in each country, training materials are being developed and produced, and subregional training courses will be held next year. These curricula and training materials, translated into national languages, will provide for the training of other social service and health personnel, and allow for project sustainability and improved services to sexually abused and exploited children and youth. Thus, through the ESCAP HRD Series on Training for Development, ESCAP is striving to promote HRD as a sustainable strategy for promoting economic and social development, and poverty alleviation. Through the capacity building of government personnel and non-governmental organizations, improved quality and more sustainable programmes can be implemented in the ESCAP region. Information on the ESCAP HRD Series on Training may be obtained by contacting the HRD Section, ESCAP at hrd-section.unescap@un.org. |