Strengthening Public Sector Capabilities through a Training Course on Upskilling and Reskilling

Rapid digital transformation is advancing faster than the skill sets of the public sector workforce, creating gaps in digital literacy, data-driven decision-making, AI applications, and innovation capabilities. These shortages reduce institutional agility, responsiveness, and citizen-centered service delivery. The APO's 2023 publication Reskilling Workers for Enhancing Labor Productivity in Asia highlighted the crucial role of governments and industries in structured learning initiatives. Building on the 2024 Workshop on Reskilling the Public-sector Workforce and aligned with the APO's role as an institution builder, this training course introduced new methodologies to address digitalization challenges in the public sector.

The Training Course on Upskilling and Reskilling the Public-sector Workforce was held on 2-6 February 2026 in Chennai, India. Hosted by the NPC, India, the course aimed to identify emerging skill gaps, present case studies that support comparative insights and adaptable solutions, deepen participants' understanding of productivity improvement through digitalization in the public sector, and equip them to design relevant capacity-building strategies.

Sixteen participants from eight APO members successfully completed the course, exploring practical upskilling and reskilling approaches to strengthen public trust, enhance talent attraction and retention, improve productivity, and build resilient, future-ready public sector institutions. Two resource persons from India and one each from Malaysia and Vietnam delivered sessions on public service in the exponential age, future-ready government, digital transformation, skill-gap analysis, AI applications, digital tools, accelerated learning, and digital ethics. Site visits to the National Institute of Wind Energy and the Centre of Excellence for Training in Energy Efficiency enriched participants' understanding of upskilling methodologies in specialized fields. On the final day, participants developed action plans reflecting their organizational contexts and outlining strategic pathways for reskilling and upskilling.