Electricity, work-place performance and emotional intelligence are among the topics to be addressed at a regional conference on human resources management that the Water and Power Authority is co-hosting June 29 and 30 on St. Thomas.
The conference of the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corp. will bring experts on utilities and on human resources together from a host of islands as well as the mainland, according to program organizer Gregory Blanchard.
The conference, to be held at the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort, has been in the works for going on two years, WAPA St. Croix personnel manager Cassandra Dunn, but, "Every time we planned something, a hurricane would come along." She said the utility services organization, known as CARILEC, was set to meet in Belize in October of 1998, when Hurricane Mitch struck the area. The meeting was changed to Miami, and there plans were laid for the 2000 conference in the Virgin Islands.
CARILEC was formed 11 years ago, Dunn said, as Caribbean utility companies recognized common goals and the advantage of forming an association to provide a cooperative approach to hurricane recovery efforts and other recurring problems in the region. "Coming together, the association has now expanded into human resources training programs as well," Dunn said. She said a Dominica Electric customer service representative recently spent a week getting training at the WAPA offices on St. Croix.
CARILEC executive manager Basil Sutherland and WAPA executive director Raymond George will address the conference at the opening on the morning of Thursday, June 29. Featured speakers that day will include the Rev. Evan Goddard of the Barbados Light & Power Co. Ltd., discussing developments in psychological evaluation of personnel, and William Muehlbauer of the Tennesseee Valley Authority, speaking on "The Power of Training – Preparing for the Future."
The Friday, June 30, presentations will include an address on "The Place of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace" by Neilson A. Waithe of the Network Services Center of Barbados, and a round-table discussion moderated by Hollis Nicholas of the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission.
Dunn said members of the territory's Human Resources Management Association are especially encouraged to attend the conference, which is open to anyone wishing to take part. Those desiring further details should telephone her at (340) 778-8755 or 773-2250, ext. 4041.
