Public servants promotions to be “tied” to successful training, NIS, public service records to be digitised

Last Updated on Monday, 10 November 2025, 21:45 by Writer

Public servants’ promotions will be linked to their successful completion of several free courses through the Public Service Upskilling Platform, even as the government prepares to digitise its operations including the entire public service and the National Insurance Scheme records.

“These certifications can and will be tied to your professional development, your advancement and your promotions within the public service,” Minister of Public Service and Government Efficiency Zulfikar Ally said at the launch of the professional development platform.

Mr Ally said several courses are being offered through the United States (U.S.)-headquartered Coursera, one of the world’s largest global online learning platforms. The minister said the certificates from the courses and specialisations would be used as proof of new skills and “tickets” for advancement. “To make digital Guyana a reality, we must empower the people who make government work,” he said.

President Irfaan Ali, in his address, said he has instructed the finance minister Dr Ashni Singh to ensure that the National Insurance Scheme’s records are “fully digitised” within eight months.

He also said the public service minister has been tasked with digitising the records and files in the “entire human resource information system” within five months. He said such a system would allow leaders in the public service to identify the availability of talent for use by different agencies.

He said the Public Service Upskilling Platform would help Guyana to become more competitive by reducing time and cost of transactions by government and members of the public while boosting efficiency and productivity. He said an artificial intelligence (AI) digitally-driven system would drive productivity and progress rather than hide behind bureaucracy and inefficient staff.

The President said a digitised government service aims to take the entire government, including his office, to the people for delivering services to people through their mobile devices. He said that would allow government officials to work remotely. “It’s a palm-driven service delivery. It’s about leap-frogging Guyana ahead of time and ahead of the competition,” he added.

Dr Ali also set a four-month deadline by which farmers must be able to use a digital tool to access education, real-time field information, weather, extension services and technology.

He said the Centre of Excellence in Agriculture must be “totally integrated”.