It's All About People

VK Getting the Caritas Human Resource Management Learning Plan Underway

I was pleased to join colleagues in Bucharest this week for the first in a series of workshops that aim to strengthen the practice of human resource management in the Caritas Europa (CE) network.

This was the first module of an innovative Human Resources Management “Learning Path,” which is a comprehensive capacity development programme designed for CE HR professionals and practitioners. This initiative is co-funded by the European Union.

I helped deliver the first module as a co-facilitator, working alongside Miriam Pikaar and 17 participants drawn from CE’s 49 member organisations. It was humbling to hear about the work that colleagues were doing in Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Portugal, Slovakia and Ukraine. Often combining HR with other organisational responsibilities and working with limited resources, their desire to learn and improve their practice was inspiring.

I was drawn to the work because the brief placed emphasis on experiential learning and creating the conditions for the sharing of ideas, successes and challenges. It did not disappoint. The participants were able to see past their widely varying contexts and recall the principles and values held in common. They also said they benefited from the peer learning, interactive sessions and the blend of theory and practice.

Sessions on Catholic Social Teaching and Caritas management standards provided opportunities to reflect on what these meant for human resource management. This space for reflection also encouraged consideration of the strategic importance of HR, acknowledging that it can be hard to see the wood for the trees.

As this was the first module, participants were also engaged in designing the content of the three modules that will follow. They expressed keen interest in learning more about professional development systems, approaches to staff wellbeing and the use of digitalisation and AI in HR.

This Learning Path underscored the Caritas Europa commitment to strengthening professional, values-based HR management across its network. It’s an investment in the skills, well-being, and leadership capacity of HR practitioners. I’m looking forward to further contributing to a programme that builds more resilient organisations that are better equipped to support staff and volunteers in fulfilling CE’s mission of solidarity and social justice across Europe.