Singapore Prisons Department
RECRUITMENT, TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF CORRECTIONAL STAFF
INTRODUCTION
In a Knowledge-Based Economy, staff are recognised as important assets. Staff Development is therefore critical to the organisation’s success to sustain and develop its ability to enhance productivity, growth and adaptability to the changing environment. With a dynamic landscape, new models of competitiveness are needed, and officers need to be better prepared and equipped with new skills to deal with the challenges ahead.
2. The Singapore Prisons Department acquires and develops capabilities and skills that are critical for its future success. Without this, we will not be able to achieve its vision to be a world class organisation This paper seeks to highlight some of the staff development strategies implemented by the Department. It will cover recruitment, training and career development.
OUR NEW OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
3. The driving forces of our new operating environment include:
a. Rate of change and advances in Technology. Rapid advances in technology have revolutionised operations in all areas of our work. The future is becoming increasingly complex, uncertain and unpredictable. The Singapore Prisons Department leveraged on technology such as the Prison Management System and Tele-visiting to respond better to work demands and rising expectations. Technology savvy staff are required to operate them.
b. Competitive and Tight Labour Market. Competition for and retention of scarce talent have been challenging issues faced by many organisations even with the economic downturn. Technology may have helped rationalise the use of manpower in Prisons, but there is still the need to have officers deliver the rehabilitative components which is labour intensive.
c. Rising Educational Profile. The steadily rising education profile of Singaporeans over the last 2 decades has resulted in a better-educated population. Graduates made up more than 10% of the population in the 1990s and their demands for greater job challenge and scope have heightened.
d. Devolution. People management and development in the civil service have evolved over the past few years. Devolution of authority in the past 5 years has begun in earnest. There is now greater autonomy in its personnel management and development.
4. The objectives of recruitment are to select and recruit job applicants with the desired core competencies and values, and with the right person-to-job match. Other than developing the means to identify applicants with the correct attributes, the potential applicants need help to make informed decisions based on knowledge of Prisons’ Vision and Mission.
Using psychometric tests as a selection tool
5. Psychometric test is one selection tool. With the help of a consultant, psychometric tests were developed using the data of existing officers. To ensure the robustness of the test, a comprehensive job analysis exercise that involved existing jobholders was carried out to determine a list of critical competencies that are crucial to Prisons Officers. Feedback was also actively solicited from existing officers by inviting a substantial number of them to participate in work perception questionnaires. The critical competencies and feedback made up the foundation for the development of the psychometric tests.
6. Currently all job applicants who meet basic entry requirement are required to take 2 sets of psychometric tests. Test results will be furnished to the interview panel for them to attain a better understanding of how each candidate fared in traits like leadership, judgement and situational response. The testing has only been implemented early this year and the results are yet to be validated.
7. At the same time, the selection criteria were also reviewed. An uniformed organisation must have officers who are operationally ready and fit. Thus, candidates have to be physically fit with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 27, with the minimum weight, height and the fitness level to pass the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT).
8. Other than physical attributes, the quality of our officers’ thinking and contributions are essential in carrying out secure custody of all incarcerated inmates and their effective rehabilitation. As a result, revised recruitment criteria to recruit only officers with higher educational qualification were implemented. The Department raised the minimum educational requirement for Junior Prison Officers and target recruitment of those with diplomas. This has been reflected in the recent recruitment statistics where 25% of our Senior Prison Officers holding good honours degree became direct-entry Assistant Superintendent of Prisons (ASP), and 85% of the Junior Prison Officers possessing A Levels and Diplomas became direct-entry Sergeants.
Lifelong and Continuous Learning Culture
9. To manage an increasingly complex work environment, the Department’s training philosophy has shifted from just-in-time (JIT) training to lifelong and continuous learning. Developing officers to assume senior management positions is a strategic function. Therefore, officers are identified as early as possible and groomed systematically to form the future group of leaders in the organisation. They would be given priority in training, development and postings so that their potential would be developed to the fullest. The culture of learning has been imbued in all officers from basic training and throughout their careers through mechanisms such as book reviews, committee and project work innovation teams, study trips and learning festivals.
10. There are two broad areas of training, the basic training that covers sufficient ground for the foundation posting and developmental training in preparation for subsequent postings.
Basic Training
11. Basic training equips our officers with the required knowledge and skills to discharge their duties. The content under professional development includes concepts on prisons’ operations and security, legislation relevant to the operations of prisons, basic counselling skills, concepts on inmate rehabilitation, weapons training, tactical training and physical training. On top of professional training, officers are also imparted leadership and management skills and Learning Organisation concepts as part of their generic personal development.
12. Senior Prison Officers are given more exposure on leadership and coaching. This is to prepare them to assume supervisory position when they are posted to their respective institutions and branches. In an effort to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of training, the Department is also constantly striving to bring in creative and up-to-date training methodologies. Two such methodologies that will be covered in this paper are the Sandwich Concept Training approach and the On-line Learning approach.
Sandwich Concept Training Approach
13. This approach is an amalgamation of residential and on-the-job training. It has a period of on-the-job (OTJ) working experience strategically positioned in the basic training programme. Senior and Junior Prison Officers undergo 17 and 14 weeks basic training respectively, before embarking on a 12 weeks on-the-job training attachment to one prison. Upon completion of their on-the-job attachment, they will return to Training School for another 4 weeks where they will complete the rest of the training as well as provide feedback on their on-the-job training and identify areas of improvement. The aim is to allow early exposure to job reality and learning without the fear of making mistakes. The training gaps are then identified at individual level for remedial action.
14. Apart from being better able to contribute suggestions and ideas to their workplace based on what they have learnt in Training School and the variety of duties assigned, the Department has found their feedback for improvement, valuable and instrumental in subsequent reviews of the training programme.
15. The concept of delivering training anywhere, anytime and anyplace can be realised with advances in technology. Officers will also be able to take personal responsibility for their own learning. The advancement of technology and improved educational profile of our officers have enabled the implementation of alternative forms of training delivery. One area under development is the on-line self-paced learning portal. Being developed as part of a Ministry-wide project led by the Singapore Prisons Department, the team is currently working on the identification and conversion of courses for On-line Learning and expects to have a pilot trial by early 2003.
16. The second training area, developmental training, is an important aspect of career development as it aims to equip officers with the necessary competencies to perform higher level or specialist jobs. Opportunities for developmental training include programmes offered for professional and general management areas. Training in professional areas includes courses in security, operations or rehabilitation. Developed together with a local polytechnic, the department offers fully sponsored certificates and diplomas in correctional administration to junior officers. Senior officers are also encouraged to take up sponsorship and to pursue post-graduate degrees. Attention is also placed on training front-line ground officers in tactical skills and leadership. The Department also invests resources in General Management programmes such as Learning Organisation, Financial Planning, Creative Thinking and Leadership.
17. To ensure the return on investment for training, we need to train officers for the right set of competencies. The Singapore Prisons Department has identified a comprehensive list of 13 core skills and abilities that are vision-aligned. They are organised into the following six clusters:
a. Mission/Vision Critical
(1) Rehabilitation orientation
(2) Concern for safety and security
(3) Strategic orientation
b. Leadership
(1) Leadership skills
(2) Incident management
(3) Concern for staff development
c. Teamwork
(1) Working relationships
d. Cognitive
(1) Critical thinking and decision making
e. Communication
(1) Information management
(2) Interpersonal communication
f. Interpersonal effectiveness
(1) Motivation
(2) Innovation and experimentation
(3) Adaptability and dealing with ambiguity
Of the six clusters of core competency identified, the Mission/Vision critical cluster has been accorded highest weightage to emphasise the importance of being Vision-Centred and good work performance.
18. The list of competencies is integrated with HR functions such as training, appraisal and career development. The framework and the appraisal system will be aligned so that the former provides a concrete list of what is measured while the latter provides the motivation and standard of measurement.
19. The competency framework has also supported the development of a coaching framework in late 2001 with the provision of a formalised process needed for coaches to discharge their responsibilities of leading and developing their officers effectively.
20. Under this framework, coaching is deemed as a continuous process which caters for regular feedback and the transference of knowledge and skills between coaches and their officers. More importantly, it creates an opportunity for individual officers to participate in the charting of their career and training route-map.
21. Coaching is expected to occur whenever the need arises, however, coaches are expected to hold at least 3 formalised sessions with their officers in a year where the third session is the annual performance appraisal report. The session will be documented for ease of reference and communication if there is a change in coach. To maintain the quality of coaching, coaches will not be assigned more than 12 wards.
CONCLUSION
22. Development of staff is a key strategy for creating value and delivering results for the organisation. The role of Staff Development Division is to ensure that HR practices such as recruitment, training and development, are aligned with the Department's strategy.
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SINGAPORE PRISONS DEPARTMENT
SEPTEMBER 2002