Competence formation and post-graduate education in the public water sector in Indonesia

摘要

The water sector is dependent on effective institutions and organisations,and, therefore, on strong competences at the individual level. In this paperwe describe competence formation and competence needs in a case study of theDirectorate General of Water Resources (DGWR) in the Ministry of PublicWorks in Indonesia. A framework is introduced for the watersector comprising three aggregate competences for technical issues, management, and governance, and ameta-competence for continuous learning and innovation. The four competences are further organised in a T-shaped competenceprofile. Though DGWR professionals have a firmly "technical" orientation,both surveys and interviews reveal a strong perceived requirement for othercompetences: in particular the learning meta-competence, as well as theaggregate competence for management. The aggregate competence for governancesystematically scores lower. Further, a discrepancy appears to exist betweenthe competences that staff perceive as needed in daily work, and those thatcan be acquired during post-graduate water education.In both locally-based and international post-graduate water education, theaggregate competences for management as well as governance are reportedlyaddressed modestly, if at all. With low competence in these fields, it isdifficult for professionals to communicate and collaborate effectively in amultidisciplinary way. As a result, the horizontal bar of the T-shapedprofile remains weakly developed. In international post-graduate education,this is partially compensated by the attention to continuous learning andinnovation. The exposure to a different culture and learning format isexperienced as fundamentally formative.