Puglia: new SNA training center, headquarters in Bari and international focus

It is further strengthened, even in Puglia, the network for the training of public employees. The Minister for Public Administration, Senator Paul Zangrillo, signed on November 25 the memorandum of understanding establishing a Bari a new Territorial training center of the National School of Administration (Sna).

The agreement was signed in Jeso Hall, on the second floor of the Palace of the Presidency of the Regional Council of Puglia, together with the president of Sna, Paula Severino, to the President of the Puglia Region, Michele Emiliano, and to the vice-president of the Apulian Institute of Economic and Social Research Foundation – Ipres, Life Maria Surico.

The new hub will be located at the former Kursaal Santalucia and will also be able to take advantage of the Pavilion 152 of the Fiera del Levante, for educational purposes, and of the premises of the Ipres Foundation, for administrative and organizational purposes.

For public sector workers – starting with those from Puglia and other regions of the South – the Centre will offer a specialist training course with a focus on the role of the Regions in the European context and on participation in international collaboration projects with the areas and countries of interest for the Italian system.

"Training does not only mean providing our employees with the appropriate knowledge and IT tools. It means, first of all, investing in the human factor, to ensure a continuous updating process, capable of putting our people, and the organizations they are part of, in the best position to face the complex challenges of innovation, in order to offer increasingly efficient services to our users, citizens and businesses. And this is what the Department of Public Function is doing by increasingly implementing activities dedicated to strengthening the skills of our people - observes the Minister Zangrillo – This is why the topic of training public personnel is now of renewed relevance in the context of the public administration reform process: it should not be considered a cost, but an investment to enable the country to face the challenges of a constantly evolving world. Creating a new Sna training center in Puglia reaffirms our intention to enhance the excellence of all territories, thus contributing to the development of the entire country”.

The President of the National School of Administration, Prof. Paola Severino adds: “The establishment of the territorial training center of Puglia represents a decisive step towards expanding the network of high-level training of the Italian Public Administration. This center will be a place of meeting and dialogue, where skills and experiences will merge to promote innovative paths and shared visions. The proximity, not only geographical, with the Balkans will favor the creation of fertile ground for the development of institutional, economic and cultural relations with countries that aspire to a common European perspective. We aim to enhance territorial specificities and offer excellent training, capable of preparing our managers and officials for the complex challenges of a constantly changing world”.

The Puglia hub joins the other entities established in the various territories, specializing in different topics such as immigration in Calabria, healthcare in Lombardy, artificial intelligence in Piedmont, prevention of natural disasters and reconstruction in Abruzzo, the environment, tourism and territorial valorization in Umbria and the protection of cultural heritage in Veneto.

"With the establishment of the Territorial Training Center of the National School of Administration of Puglia, managers and officials of the Puglia Region and of all the public administrations of Puglia will be able to access high-profile training courses starting from the next few months and continuously develop their skills, especially the transversal ones, which are now more relevant to accompany the major processes of digital and environmental transition. The regional development strategies launched in recent years, also with the PNRR funds, and those that will be launched with the new funds of the European Union Cohesion, require public administrations that are not only more efficient but also able to collaborate more effectively with each other. For this reason - declared the President Emiliano – with the SNA training center, the Region aims not only to respond in a more targeted way to the training needs of the Apulian public administrations, but also to promote institutional cohesion and collaborative practices between local authorities and the Region, essential to accompany the great changes that involve citizens and businesses.”