JPOs encouraged to pursue self-development
A new cycle of the Development Programme for Junior Police Officers (JPOs) with Potential commenced in January. To mark the launch of the development programme, the Human Resources Branch of Personnel Wing organised a briefing session at New Territories South Regional Headquarters on February 22 to introduce the programme's features to both mentors and mentees in the Force.
The features include the partnership between Formation management and mentees; a structured development approach which started with formulation of a Self-development Action Plan by a mentee, with his or her progress of development overseen by the mentor and the Formation management and appropriate job attachment opportunities sourced by Personnel Wing.
A total of 166 officers turned up at the briefing session, indicating mentees are keen to strive for personal development. Their mentors are dedicated to offering assistance, reflecting the caring culture of the Force.
In an opening speech, Senior Superintendent (SSP) (Human Resources) Josephine Lau, who was involved in the initial design of the development programme, welcomed the mentees. She said she was glad that, since the programme was launched in late 2006, almost 50 mentees had been promoted to various ranks, thanks to the efforts made by all the parties concerned. "Whilst acquiring knowledge and skills is important for personal developments, mentees should apply what they have learned at the workplace for betterment of their own developments and the Force's overall performance," SSP Lau noted.
After the opening speech, Superintendent (SP) (JPO) Au Yeung Kwok-kee introduced the initiatives developed after a review of the programme by Personnel Wing late last year. The initiatives include improving job attachment arrangements for mentees with Formations, bringing job attachment opportunities to mentees' attention via the website of the JPO Division and augmenting the communication channels among Personnel Wing, Regional Co-ordinators as well as mentors and mentees.
SP Au Yeung stressed that Personnel Wing would continue watching out for opportunities for job attachment and secondment for mentees. Between 2008 and 2010, some 110 JPOs were attached to various policy Formations and government departments to enhance their exposures and career developments.
At the briefing session, a Senior Training Officer from the Civil Service Training and Development Institute (CSTDI), Mr Andy Lau, gave a lecture on "Coaching and Mentoring Skills". He also offered mentors and mentees tips on how to make use of the merits of the programme through partnership in development.
"The key to success is creating the right climate for cultivating mentor-mentee relationship and setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely) objectives by mentors and mentees", said Mr Lau.
A training video on mentoring skills, based on the personal stories of mentors and mentees and jointly produced by CSTDI and JPO DIV of Human Resources Branch, was shown at the briefing session for experience sharing. The video has been uploaded to Cyber Learning Centre Plus (an e-learning platform for civil servants) by CSTDI and can be viewed by Force members from website: https://www.clcplus.cstdi.gov.hk/portal/category/221.
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briefing attracts a large turnout of officers