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Sunday July 16, 4:17 PM700 undergo training to be liaison officers for S2006700 civil servants are being put through protocol and business etiquette training to prepare them to be liaison officers at the high-powered World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings to be held in Singapore in September.These civil servants, handpicked by their own ministries, will be attending to the visiting VIPs and their spouses. They include heads of state, finance ministers and central bank governors from more than 180 countries. The civil servants will receive training on things as basic as welcoming the VIPs at the airport as well as exchanging name cards with the delegates. One of the trainees is Victor Seah from the Ministry of National Development. He said: "Some of the things that we learn like personal grooming, dining etiquette and also the protocol, are what we need to do for our job as a liaison officer." Another trainee is K Latha from the Ministry of Finance. She said: "Very interestingly, we've also been taught how to deal with contingencies: what happens if something doesn't go the way it should go, how should we handle the situation? What should we do? Who should we call? All these are being taught to us...it really prepares us mentally and psychologically." The protocol training is just part of a series of sessions to prepare the 700 civil servants on how to attend to the delegates. In August, when the list of visiting delegates is confirmed, the officers will be assigned to specific VIPs. And a last round of training will be conducted to prepare them for their job-specific roles. Veronica Chia, an etiquette training consultant, said: "I think what they have picked up and are now trying to adapt to, is conversation skills. Usually we can be very informal in our ways when we meet strangers - we'll say 'hi'. But being a delegate liaison officer....you have to be formal; you have to represent Singapore, you're Singapore's ambassador. "So they have to come up with conversational topics that are appropriate, not sensitive; such as you don't ask about religion, you don't ask personal questions either. "If somebody talks about shopping, you don't say 'yes, we have a sale here and items are very cheap'. We'd say they are inexpensive, they are 'special prices'......Terminology like that, they have got to try and adjust for this particular conference." Asked how prepared the liaison officers are to play Singapore ambassadors, she said: "I think they're very polished now!" And they are ready to meet and greet the delegates when they arrive in September. - CNA/ir
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