ILO calls for skills development at national productivity workshop in Nigeria

ABUJA (ILO News) - The International Labour Organization (ILO) Director for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Gambia and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Mrs. Sina Chuma-Mkandawire, called for an effective skills development system to enhance the productivity of the workforce in Nigeria. Mrs Chuma-Mkandawire stated this at a national workshop organized by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Abuja.

According to the ILO Director, productivity is the responsibility of all social partners and stakeholders. She stated that “the theme of the workshop, ‘Implementing National Policy on Productivity and Basic Productivity Improvement Techniques in Workplace’ is quite apt as it underscores the need for all stakeholders to be committed to the implementation of the National Policy on Productivity. The theme also emphasizes the importance of imparting techniques of achieving improvement in productivity to actors in both formal and informal sectors,” adding that the ILO’s strategic objectives have mainstreamed productivity in various ways.

Speaking on the importance of skills to productivity, Mrs. Chuma-Mkandawire stated that “Skills development is central to improving productivity. In turn, productivity is an important source of improved living standards and growth. Effective skills development systems – which connect education to technical training, technical training to labour market entry and labour market entry to workplace and lifelong learning – can help countries sustain productivity growth and translate that growth into more and better jobs”.

Speaking further, the ILO Director stated that productivity is of great benefit to all including workers and investors. “It is important that both enterprises and workers benefit from improved productivity. Improved productivity can enable enterprises to make new investments and fuel the innovations, diversifications and expansions into new markets that are needed for future growth. Improved productivity can result in higher earnings for workers, better working conditions, improved benefits and reduced working hours; these in turn can improve workers’ job satisfaction and motivation”.

In his Keynote address at the workshop, the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh regretted that labour productivity in Nigeria has been on decline over the past two decades hence the “need to restructure the national productivity system to maximize, evaluate and monitor resources invested in the economy in concordance with performance and service delivery. “

The Permanent Secretary listed the objectives of the workshop to include:

• Understanding the basic concepts of productivity and its role in national development
• Enlightenment of the participants on the contents of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as a toll to measure performance in workplace, and
• Creating awareness of the National Productivity Policy (NPP) as a roadmap for achieving productivity consciousness and national growth and economic development.