Around 300 newly recruited clerks in the Public Service are currently undergoing training designed by the Staff Development Organisation (SDO) within the Office of the Prime Minister.

A new innovation introduced in this training programme is the element of mentoring. Whilst the new recruits are following the customary induction programme which is aimed primarily at teaching them the ropes within this large and complex organisation that is the Public Service, a number of more senior officers are undergoing training in how to become mentors. They will, in turn, mentor a number of these new recruits in order to help them integrate more quickly and fulfil their duties more efficiently.

This mentoring programme is based on standards developed from accredited programmes in the UK and includes practical mentoring sessions and continuous review of learning and applications of learning. The sessions are being facilitated by Dr Katie Birch, who has many years experience in training mentors and is a founder member of the Malta Mentoring Society and an associate member of the European Mentoring Association.

At the end of the training programme, the new entrants in the Service are expected to be more familiar with the regulations and ethics that bind Public Officers as well as to have a clearer picture of the Government and Administrative set-up in Malta. The relationship with their mentors will then ease their entry into the organisation and ensure that positive values and work ethics are imparted to them at the outset. This initiative is part of an ongoing process to develop a more professional Public Service at all levels.