The year 1987 marked a milestone in the history of the Seychelles Institute of Management (SIM).  Mrs Noellie Alexander, currently the Minister for Administration and Manpower Development, became the first Seychellois to take the driver’s seat in taking the most important training institution in our country a mile further.

At a time when the Government was working closely with the ODA (Overseas Development Agency) in order to localise the then existing expatriate posts, Minister Alexander had seized the opportunity to do her masters in Human Resource in the UK.  It was upon her return to the Seychelles in October 1987 that she would become the Director of SIM.

She recalls that period of time as one of tangible achievements in our country.  Development and innovations were happening in all corners and everybody wanted a role to play.  SIM was home to part-time lecturers, who valued personal development more than economical gains, and were therefore content to teach free of charge.

Minister Alexander credits perseverance and the right attitude as two of many important and success-oriented attributes that leaders in teaching institutions need to possess.  Unlike the production of goods where the end results can be seen and touched, the production of knowledge is of a different nature.  The end product can only be predicted through intuition and can finally be seen through the success stories of the country as a whole.  In order to grow a team of professionals who would in turn produce these ‘goods’ requires good leadership skills.  Such professionals, in her views, need to be motivated and nurtured.

Despite having moved on, Minister Alexander stills holds SIM close to her heart.  Aside from SIM being part of the Ministry of Administration and Manpower Development, she has crossed paths with it through part-time lecturing, explaining that ‘once a trainer, always a trainer’.  It is her way of testing the theories from the books with the experiences from the university of life.

On Tuesday October 14, as SIM marks its 25th anniversary, she sees it as being at a crucial crossroad.  As it propels itself into the future, it needs to make strides with information technology, sectoral developments and economic demands.

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