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Federal government and sub-nationals have been encouraged to concentrate on human capital development rather than wages or factors of production in order to ensure greater development of the nation.
Speaking with journalists at the third annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) in Ilorin on Thursday, the president and chairman of the governing council institute, Mallam Ahmed Ladan Gobir, said that “if you have capital, resources, skills, and all that, you still require a human resource to harness all these to get intended and expected results.”
The CIPM boss, who advised the Federal Government and all sub-nationals to make not only paying salary, minimum wage, or living wage to employees the priority, said that they should encourage re-skilling and up-skilling of employees by way of training.
“As human resources (HR) professionals, our focus is always around human capital development. Often times we talk about factors of production, finance, capital, machinery, land, and entrepreneurs, but we de-emphasise human capital and human resources.
“If you have capital, resources, skills, and all that, you still require a human resource to harness all these to get intended and expected results.
“So, we encourage the Federal Government and all sub-national to make not only paying salary, minimum wage, or a living wage to employees, but we also encourage re-skilling and up-skilling of employees by way of training.
People would say there’s a need to first satisfy the biological needs or that a hungry man cannot think about training, but we always say that no matter what you are paid, you must also think about your own growth and development.
What training, retraining, re-skilling, and upskilling do is equip workers with resources to be able to foray into other areas of growth and development.
That’s why in the CIPM, we go from state to state to partner with federal and state governments to provide training and learning opportunities for civil servants,” he said.
Also speaking, the chairman of the CIPM in Kwara state, Mrs Olaide Ajiboye, lamented current challenges being faced by Nigerian workers, including insecurity, rising fuel prices, and fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate.
Speaking at the annual conference that was in hybrid form, themed “Human Resource Management in a VUCAR World: Building Resilience and Agility,” Ajiboye said that the theme addresses the challenges of operating in a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, and risky environment (VUCAR).
“This theme is apt and timely considering the increasing rate at which companies are shutting down production in Nigeria due to high operating costs. This was buttressed in the recent release by
Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN), which states that about 737 companies have shut down in Nigeria from 2023 till date or relocated to other countries.”
She thus emphasised the need to make the environment conducive for business in Nigeria to thrive.
“That is why we have gathered here from various corners of the industry, united by a shared commitment to advancing the field of human resources and finding solutions to underlying socio-economic challenges confronting our country as professionals.
“We will explore the innovative practices and emerging trends that are shaping how we operate in a turbulent environment. Our collective goal is to equip ourselves with the insights and tools necessary to navigate the evolving workplace landscape”.
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