To ensure an open and seamless digital government and enable innovation and improvement of its service delivery, Sarawak is equipping its civil service workforce with the necessary digital competencies.
It is one of the early initiatives carried out under the State’s digital economy strategic action to build, develop and headhunt an agile, digital-savvy and industry-ready workforce.
For Sarawak, committing to its digital transformation journey is crucial in strengthening development strategies to further drive the State’s socio-economic growth and overcome challenges brought about by the global economy.
As the principal backbone of the government machinery and a vital contributor to a nation’s growth and prosperity, the civil service plays an important role in initiating and driving transformation, innovation and productivity of the working population.
For that, Premier Sarawak, YAB Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg, in his speech at the 2017 Civil Service Day, called for the State civil service to lead Sarawak’s digitalisation efforts, for “without the strong drive from the government, no digital transformation can truly succeed to its full capacity.”
“That is why I am launching the State Multimedia Authority… so that all civil servants in Sarawak can recognise and understand the significance of this digitalisation initiative,” he said, adding that their knowledge about the digital economy is critical when informing and educating the people at the grass-roots.
This applies to all levels of management within the civil service, in which they must be digitally and technologically literate, highly adaptable and very open to improving themselves, among various other essential skills and knowledge to thrive in the digital era.
This is to ensure that they can keep pace with rapid technological changes within and beyond their organisations, boost work productivity and performance, and eventually being able to respond better to the needs of the people through efficient and effective service delivery.
Digitalisation efforts within the Sarawak civil service has carried out with the SCS 10-20 Action Plan since 2017 in transforming and nurturing high-performing and innovative civil servants.
Key to this implementation is the Leadership Institute of Sarawak Civil Service, which has organised various workshops and courses to provide the necessary support for members of the civil service to be digitally ready and prepared to play their part in the State’s digital economy agenda.
Training conducted at the institute also planned and carried out to be in line with the State civil service’s aspiration of becoming a world-class civil service, which enshrined in the SCS 10-20 Action Plan.
According to the Leadership Institute’s Learning Management System, among the courses offered to civil servants that are related to the digital economy include Leading in the Digital Era; Guiding the Analysis for Effective Data-driven Decision Making; Enabling Business-IT Collaboration and Strategic Alignment; and SCS ICT Governance and Transformation.
