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STAFF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT: A TOOL FOR INCREASE IN PERFORMANCE IN ORGANISATION (A CASE STUDY OF FEDERAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ABIA STATE)

ABSTRACT

Training and development activities are a crucial exercise in any organizational set-up. It has attracted intense debate and scholarly attention in the human resource management arena over the years. However, its application to public sector has received little attention. This paper wants to investigate the staff training and development as a tool for increase in performance in organization. The total population for the study is 200 staff of Dangote group of company. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up managers, human resource managers, senior staff and junior staff was used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION

In any administrative organization, a large or small, public or private, competent personnel are required for the actualization of the organization’s goals and objectives. After workers have been hired to work for an organization, one striking thing about them is that they have different backgrounds, though they may have the same qualification. Also by having not worked for that organization before, they may not have indebt knowledge of the techniques, procedures, and culture of the organization. In the same vein, Obikeze, Obi and Abonyi (2005) states that Life is dynamic and new inventions and ways of doing things are continually evolving. Change is now regarded as anything permanent in life. In the work place, the workers need to be aware of these changes and also innovate accordingly. As people work and rise in the hierarchy, they take on more responsibilities which may not even bear much resemblance to the ones they were exposed to at the early stage, hence they are supposed to be prepared early enough so that future challenges would not overwhelm them. They above in a nutshell, under shows the need to equip the workers with necessary skills that will help in both present jobs and future responsibility and which can be achieved through training and development.

1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

It is common for people to see training and development as the same thing. However, it is important to point out that though, they are similar but are not the same thing. In the word of Campbell (1971), training “is a planner learning experience designed to bring about permanent change in an individual knowledge, attitude or skill” Cole  in Obikeze, Obi and Abonyi (2005) Opine that training any learning activity which is directed towards the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills for the purpose of an occupation or task. In addition, Ogunna (1996) opine that training “is a process by which the attitude, skills, technical knowledge and abilities of the employees to perform specific job are increased”. Development on the other hand, according Onuoha  in Obikeze Obi and Abonyi (2005) states that staff development involves “preparing employees for high responsibilities in the future” It is also a programme with the intent to improve employees’ conceptual and human skills in preparation for future jobs.

In addition to that Cole  in Obikeze, Obi and Abonyi (2005) opine that staff development is refers to any learning activity which is directed towards future needs rather than the present needs and which is concerned more with career growth than immediate performance. Writing on the staff development and training in organization, Ubeku (1975) state that “employees who have received adequate training before being assigned responsibilities lack the necessary confidence with which to carryout their job”. That the employees should be helped to grow into more responsibilities by systematic training and development so that he will be confident enough to carryout the responsibilities of their jobs.

However, Campbell (1971) states that the distinction between training and development Is that development aimed at the managerial personnel and that training course are designed for short term and stated set purpose, such as operation of some pieces of machinery and others. From the above, it is now clear that there is a major different between training and development. Though both of them are geared towards increasing or improving the skills of workers. Training is concerned with teaching the workers specific skills that will assist them in their immediate task while development is concerned with teaching the workers more general skills that will assist them in career growth, thereby enquiring for the future.

Commenting on the inevitability of training and development, Onyemesim (2008) indicate that effective training programme can result in increased productivity, reduce labour turnover, and greater employee satisfaction. Countless writers on the subject on the other hand come out with the conclusion that the need for training and development cannot be overemphasized, yet public organization place it at the bottom of their priorities. Still on that, Ogunna (1996), Opine that “training of personnel has not been given adequate alternation in Nigeria while federal ministry are specialized bodies of government which requires special skills, techniques and norms peculiar to it.

Britain gives specific alternation to regular specialist training for public organization staff. So, this was inherited by Nigeria during the colonial era. The federal government in its programme of training designed three universities, namely Obafemi Awolowo University for the Western zone, University of Nigeria Nsuka for the Eastern zone and Ahmadu Bello university Zaria for the Northern zone, as national training centers for organizational personnel. In addition to formal academic training, the centre organized regular seminar and workshops for the public and private organizational personnel.

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