Group of A level students from Independent School meets with high officials of the Ministry
November 26, 2021
A group of A level students from the Independent School, met with high officials from the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Trade on Friday 26th November 2021, at Liberty House.
The group of eight students who are siting for their A levels in mainly accounting, economics and finance, interacted with Minister Naadir Hassan, SS Patrick Payet, PS for Trade, Ms. Cillia Mangroo and Director General for Economic Planning, Lenny Palit.
The objective of the meeting, organised by their Business and Economics teacher, Miss Tainy Payet, was to know more about the role and responsibilities, as well as career opportunities at the Ministry.
Minister Hassan welcomed the students and their teacher, saying he was happy to meet with ‘potential staff of the Ministry.’
The talk started with a brief introduction of the ministry, which comprises of the Finance Department, Economic Planning Department and Trade Department.
SS Payet briefed the students on the role and work of the Finance Department, which has 7 main divisions;
- Financial Planning and Control Division
- Public Treasury Management
- Macroeconomic Forecast Branch
- Tax and Sectoral Policy
- Financial Services Development
- Debt Management Office
- Internal Audit
PS Mangroo gave an overview of the Trade Department, which is divided into 9 clusters; Goods, Taxes, Services & Development, Trade Development, Trade Related, Subsidies, Intellectual Property, Project Management and Import/Export.
The Trade Department is also responsible for Postal Regulatory. The Trade Department also has an overseas Trade Attaché, who is based in Geneva, Switzerland, the seat of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The mission of planning and long-term view of our country’s development fall under the responsibility of the Economic Planning Department.
The staff at the Ministry have a variety of educational backgrounds: economics, accounting, auditing, legal, econometrics, finance and business administration.
The students interacted with the panel; where they sought guidance on career opportunities, specialisations, sustainability of resources, budget allocation, budget monitoring and oversight, tax policies, and efficacy in expenditure.
Minister Hassan advised the students to focus on their education, in order to give themselves an ‘edge’, over others.
“Do not be scared to challenge yourself and get out of you comfort zone, because in the world of work, when you have specific required skills, you will have an edge and an advantage.”
SS Payet reiterated this call, saying with the current cohort of young professionals at the Ministry, they now have an edge and are more adept to represent Seychelles in any international organisations.
“We now have the capacity to challenge international organisations when we are in negotiations, because our staff are skilled and well trained, thus our country benefit from these skills.”
Miss Tainy Payet, class teacher, was also in agreement, with the statement for the student to ‘not choose the easiest path.’
She said the meeting was very informative and interesting.
“The variety of skills that are needed at the Ministry is very extensive. Now we can better appreciate the challenges and skills that are required, as they are not easily available on the market. This talk does give the students some career choices, to think about.”
The meeting is an initiative of Independent School.