KIGALI - NINE Ministry of Defense (MINIDEF) and Rwanda Defence Force staff (RDF) on Friday completed  a five-day training on customer care service that will see them attain an Award for Customer Service Professionals (ACSP).

The training, the first of its kind for the military in Africa, is sponsored by MINIDEF and RDF. It was conducted by Corner Stone Africa (COSTA) a local consultancy company.

The training was aimed at equipping participants with the customer care service skills in order to make the two institutions more professional.

Speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, defence spokesman Major Jill Rutaremera, said the first group of participants was drawn from departments of the Ministry of Defence and RDF headquarters that interact with external customers and on more regular basis.

Rutaremera said that customer care issues are sometimes not given the weight and attention they deserve, because some people look at customer care knowledge and skills as simple common sense and others think it is meant for people engaged in financial profit making ventures.

"Customer care is necessary for any organization, including defence,” noted Rutaremera.

Rutaremera urged the trainees to apply the tools they have been equipped with in their daily duties as it contributes to the achievement of the overall mission of the ministry of defence.

"More than any other institution, the military must maintain and enhance trust and confidence of the population. This cannot be done without good customer care service,” said Rutaremera.

He added that there will be a proposal in MINIDEF to train more personnel in order to create the required critical mass.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Joshua Mbaraga, the Managing Director of COSTA, said the trained MINIDEF and RDF staff have been the first to carry out online assessment to qualify them to be awarded international certificates in the UK by an Association of Business Practitioners (ABP).

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