PILAG Opens Regional Training Center in Mt.Hagen After 20 Years

The Pacific Institute of Leadership and Governance (PILAG) is back in Mt. Hagen, Western Highlands Province after 20 years.

PILAG Highlands regional training center is now offering diploma programs, certificate and short courses for public servants in the region to broaden their knowledge and keep up with the latest trends in the public service mechanism under the government policy directions.

PILAG management is renting its facilities from the Holy Trinity Teachers College through partnership agreement.The first five students (pioneers) graduated last week with certificates in project management. The small but significant event was witnessed by the officers from the Western Highlands provincial administration, archdiocese of Mt.Hagen and PILAG’s top management from Port Moresby.

PILAG Highlands regional center manager Rebecca Gonapa, said the institution was previously known PNG Institute of Public Administration, and had offered its program at the resource center in Mt.Hagen but closed in the 1990s due to landowner issues. “We are back in Mt.Hagen. It is a central location for all public servants in the Highlands” she said. Ms Gonopa said PILAG’s return is to give easy access to public servants in the Highlands..

“A lot of public servants in the country are from the Highlands region. Travelling to Port Moresby is costly, even in our Madang campus, so management has decided to bring PILAG back to Hagen,” she said. Ms Gonapa said the board and management of PILAG are  thankful and appreciate the administration and board of Holy Trinity Teachers College for the partnership in offering their classrooms and facilities at HTTC next year but our office will be at Wamp Nga building opposite Mt.Hagen Bowling Club”, Ms Gonopa said.

She said next year they will roll out the full programs in diploma, certificate and short courses. “We came in June this year, only five graduated for the short course which is project management.

“Our aim is to align our public servants with the government policy directions, and at the same time further their knowledge so that they work in line with the changes today” she said.

Read the full post of the  story on PILAG Facebook page.

This story by  Riodan Begushar first appeared on  (Post Courier, Tuesday November 19, 2019)