Staff Profile: DPM Supports Career Path for Staff
Meet 52 years old Ms. Ioa (Yo-wa) Vitaharo of Mashall Island in Aroma, Central Province.
She is the State of Service Reporting Officer in the Public Service Information Centre Branch within Secretary’s Office.
Ioa commenced work at DPM at a very young age of 20 years old, with only a Grade 10 Certificate as her highest level of education.
In that era of 80’s and 90’s, Papua New Guineans can find a decent office job with a Grade 10 and 12 Higher Education Certificate.
She started as the Executive Assistant to the then Finance and Administration Manager, Mr. Rava Taviri.
“I started as a Grade 4 Officer at DPM”, said Ms. Vitaharo.
“When I saw my first pay of about K400.00 if I could recall, it motivated me to come to work everyday, work hard, and earn my own salary as I was young that time,” she recalled.
As time went by, Ms. Vitaharo saw the need to upgrade her education level and so she wrote to DPM to support her studies at the then Administration College (ADCOL), now Somare Institute of Leadership and Governance (SILAG).
She successfully graduated with a Certificate 3 in Government Human Resource in 2012, Twenty years after she started in 1992.
It didn’t take long for Ms. Vitaharo to obtain a Diploma in 2015 at the former Pacific Institute of Leadership and Governance (PILAG), now SILAG.
With the upgrading of her Education level, she was promoted to work as the Assistant Policy Coordination Officer under the Policy & Reforms Wing.
Ms. Vitaharo was then moved to becoming the State of Service Reporting Officer.
However, one of the job requirements of that SoS position was to have a Degree.
“And so I applied to the Department’s Selection Committee and asked them to sponsor me to study at Divine Word University to get my Degree,” said Ms. Vitaharo.
She said she studied at DWU for two years in 2021 and 2022 and finally graduated with Bachelor in Management in March of 2023.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank DPM for the support and for believing in me and supporting me by sponsoring my studies to improve my knowledge and skills so that I can be qualified for the position”, said Ms. Vitaharo.
“Most importantly I thank God for his blessings throughout my life”.
Obtaining her Degree Paper wasn’t easy for her she recalled.
She said there were ups and downs financially, and family issues, as well as trying to cope with the advance technologies the school offered with the complexity of the course offered.
However, Ms. Vitaharo did not give up hope, she persevered and was adamant that she can do it.
Ms. Vitaharo graduated in absentia in March of 2023.
Ioa would like to using this platform to encourage DPM staff who have Certificates and Diplomas as their highest qualifications to use such opportunities available to better their education and knowledge to be able to perform to the best of their abilities.