School of Public Administration (EAP)
Until 2012, the services of the Walloon government and those of the Federal Wallonia-Brussels government each had their own, separate training departments. These departments still exist, focusing on specific training; a course on architectural heritage differs greatly from training on, for example, project management. Four years ago, both governments decided to establish the “School of Public Administration” (“Ecole d’Administration Publique” or EAP). The goal was to make a strong investment in the training of civil servants, as well as to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience between employees of the different administrations.
Aurore Lemal, responsible for communication at EAP explains: ‘The EAP provides strong training trajectories for about 24,000 potential civil servants. We respond to the broad need for non-subject-specific training courses on topics including management, human resources and communication. The training courses need to enable civil servants to continuously improve their strengths, allowing them to function exactly as required within the public services.’
The EAP has also paid particular attention to the government employees who want to reorient themselves towards different functions, further develop their skills, etc.
From this need, it was decided to look for a strategic HR partner that could help the EAP with the development of a modern total policy on career leadership and competence development, and that would also be able to shine a positive light on the government administrations in their role as employers.
Quintessence was chosen from a number of potential partners to help the EAP attain the necessary competences and tools required to develop effective professional orientation trajectories for the diverse target groups within the governmental personnel.
Laurence Arki, is the project leader at the EAP: ‘From the very beginning, we wanted the highest possible grades of competence and innovation. In other words, we wanted to become the best partner for our clients, the administrations. This is why we went looking for an external partner who could link excellent pedagogical skills to strong management of the modern HR problematic. We particularly wanted to choose a partner who felt strongly about co-creation.’
Alessandra Cool, Senior Consultant at Quintessence: ‘The request from the EAP was perfect for Quintessence: develop talent and competences from a clear Purple vision, by fine-tuning proven methods to the specific needs within the culture of an organisation. An organisation only functions well if the people working there feel good about their work. It comes down to sustainably and qualitatively tuning the needs of the administrations and those of the civil servants to each other.’
During a first, intensive kick-off phase, the team from Quintessence started working with groups from the EAP and Forem to gather all needs relating to job orientation within the organisations. Subsequently, we put together a focus group of EAP HR specialists who were then involved in an online survey and a workshop.
Alessandra Cool: ‘The first product of this joint project was a three-day educational programme that prepared HR specialists to effectively perform orientation interviews with co-workers. Based on practically employable methods, participants learn to map the talents, competences and bottle-neck issues of the people they talk to. They learn to deal with sensitive subjects, give constructive feedback and create involvement so civil servants will actively think about their careers and take responsibility for them. The participants apply all the techniques they have learnt. They immediately have a clearer image of their own functions and learn to use the acquired tools effectively.’
EAP and Quintessence
For more than a year, Quintessence has been providing targeted expertise to the EAP in its function as a public education institution. The solutions we provide are simple, effective and immediately able to be applied by everyone. Participant reactions clearly show us that with a positive balance, we can work further on the chosen course.