Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS) implemented Manpower Development Project in 1983 A.D with a prime view to empowering DWSS staff for planning, programming, resource mobilization, implementation and monitoring of Water Supply and Sanitation (WATSAN) program activities, Emphasis was also given to enhance the skills of the WASH sector stakeholders in line with a broader national objective of providing safe and clean water and basic sanitation services to every Nepeli citizen and improve the quality of their life.
Followed by this intiative, NWSSTC was established in November 1987 A.D within DWSS to work as the center for manpower planning; and imparting trainings to staff of DWSS, WASH sector partners and users. UNDP/WHO, United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) supported NWSSTC technically and financially for organizing trainings and developing Information Education and Communication (IEC) materials. UNDP/WHO had funded the WASH sector training activities through a four year project “Human Resource Development for WATSAN sector” which ended in 1997 A.D. NWSSTC served a number of national and international agencies for Human Resource Development (HRD) in various forms and capacities. These initiatives indeed became the corner stone to institutionalize NWSSTC as a Human Resource Development Center for WASH sector in the country.
Scope of HRD
NWSSTC serves in the following areas of HRD activities in WASH sector to capacitate managers, engineers, sociologists, program officers, sub-engineers, technicians, women workers, social mobilizes, sanitation volunteers, teachers, WASH users committee members, school child clubs, masons, etc as per need and requirements:
- Institutional development
- Community management and mobilization
- Planning, programming, implementation and monitoring
- Total sanitation and related issues
- Water quality monitoring and surveillances
- Solid waste management, waste water treatment and design of water treatment plant
- Computer based survey, design, estimation, construction and supervision of the different components of WASH projects
- Technical aspect in WASH (e.g. rain water harvesting, eco-san, etc.)
- Development of report, papers and proposal on thematic issues
- Information management and networking
- Gender, economic cultural and socio-cultural aspects
- Approaches, modalities and tools in WASH
- Hospitality management and team building
- Administrative and fiscal management
- Construction and contract management
- Documentation and publication
- Operation and maintenance of WASH facilities
- Plumbing and masons training
- Research and development on thematic aspects
Strategy
NWSSTC works with a vision of empowering the concerned stakeholders to promote WASH sector as a whole. It aims to capacitate local bodies, Public Enterprises, NGOs, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), WASH users committee, clubs,Tole committee, teachers and school child clubs to explore and mobilize their hidden potentiality by generating an enabling environment through skilled and well motivated human resources at national, district and local levels. NWSSTC Revolving Fund Implementation Procedure- 2055, approved by the Council of Ministers, Government of Nepal (GoN), has authorized NWSSTC to generate and mobilize the financial resources through conducting training, seminars and research activities as well as consulting services by bidding or negotiating with Government, Donors and National & International Non Government Organization. NWSSTC has adopted the tailor-made HRD interventions to be compatible with the local needs; and it is ultimately dedicated to strengthening the capacity of local level institutions for implementing the decentralization policy of the GoN.
Key Result Areas
The key result areas or the perceived benefits of HRD in WASH sector are visualized as follows:
- HRD activities results in building alliance among the stakeholders and generating sensitized mass for the betterment of the sector.
- Capacity development of the users for over all planning, programming, implementation and follow up leads to maintain WASH projects.
- Enhancement of technical and managerial skills of human resources increases their individual capacity and social exposure for engaging in income generating activities.
- HRD of users ultimately capacitate them to sustain the WASH based on cost recovery system.
- HRD activity enhances group dynamism, innovative and creative qualities of stakeholders that help enhance quality of the program.
- HRD interventions empower and sensitize the local communities to optimally mobilize the huge under utilized local level resources in WASH sector, which will fulfill the resource constraints being faced by the sector.
- Generation of productive human resources will help for poverty alleviation, gender empowerment and prosperity and well-being of the nation.
- Enhancement of the capacity of private entrepreneurs to design, develop and implement effective and efficient WASH projects in order to lessen the burden of the Governement.