CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Human resources development lies at the heart of every economic, social and educational development. It is also a vital component for achieving internationally agreed sustainable development goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs) and for expanding opportunities to all people, particularly the most vulnerable groups and individuals in the society.
Over the years, the concept of human resources development has evolved from solely focusing on individual capacity to building institutional capacity at the international level, through socio-economic policies and development plans and strategies. Human resources development is, therefore, regarded as facilitating the development of human capacities to achieve sustainable, inclusive, equitable development and, at the same time, enhance well-being of individuals.
As global labour markets both shape and adapt to the emerging occupational structures of growing economies, human resources development strategies must balance the demands of new employment sectors with the supply of required skills. Information and Communication Technology (ICT), education, and agricultural development, are among the most vital sectors for the socio-economic development in almost all countries.
Furthermore, at the regional level, African public and the private sectors are experiencing a significant phase of decline with regard to service delivery (Allen, 2006). This has seen limited investment in human capital development and a notable exodus of available skills which has added to acute shortage due to lack of training and development (Bakan, Ersahan, Buyukbese, 2013). Therefore, the need to enhance training and development for the educational sector has become particularly important in developing countries. This shortage could be resolved by a significant investment in human capital and workplace exposure which can rapidly develop skills in addition to interpersonal and analytical training and development. Against this backdrop, most organizations are affected by weak service delivery, with employees in the organization not performing their tasks up to expected standards.
Coming closer home, Staff Training and Development are subsumed under the umbrella of Human Resources Management whose main objective is to improve and increase an organization’s effectiveness. Employee training and development are essential to the success of every organization. Although technology and the internet have enabled global collaboration and competition, employees are still the organization’s competitive advantage. Manpower training and development enable employees to develop skills and competence necessary to enhance bottom-line results for their organizations (Beebe, Mottet, & Roach, 2012).
Every organization is established for a purpose, and the purpose of any organization is achieved through people who are the source of existence of the organization (Bhati, & Ashokkumar, 2013). Therefore, this assertion underscores the necessity for staff training and development in organizations. Manpower training and development seeks to improve the performance of work units, departments, and the whole organization. It takes an in depth look at where an organization stands in comparison to where it hopes to be in the future, and consciously develops the skills and resources to get there. The ultimate goal of staff training and development is to enable the organization to grow stronger in achieving its purpose and mission.
According to Okotoni and Erero (2005) training has become more obvious given the growing complexity of the work environment, the rapid change in organizations and technological advancement which further necessitates the need for training and development of personnel to meet the challenges. Training and development help to ensure that organizational members possess the requisite knowledge and skills they need to perform their jobs effectively, take on new responsibilities, and adapt to changing conditions (Jones, George & Hill, 2000). They further argued that training “helps improve quality, customer satisfaction, productivity, morale, management succession, business development and profitability”. In order to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, organizations embark on the following;
- Human Resource Development: The process of equipping individuals with the understanding, skills and access to information, knowledge and training that enables them to perform effectively.
- Organizational Development: The elaboration of management structures, processes and procedures, not only within organizations but also the management of relationships between the different organizations and sectors (Public, Private and Community).
- Institutional and Legal Framework Development: Making legal and regulatory changes to enable organizations, institutions and agencies at all levels and in all sectors enhance their capacities (Abiodun, 1999).
The recognition that human resources are the most valuable assets for improving productivity of any organization, since the management of other resources (e.g. information resources, material resources, etc) entirely depends on it, underscores the importance of training and development. This study investigated how the human assets could be developed through training and development.
The importance of training and development is very crucial given the growing complexity of the work environment, the rapid change in organizations and advancement in technology, among other things. Training and development helps to ensure that organizational members possess the knowledge and skills they need to perform their jobs effectively, take on new responsibilities and adapt to changing conditions.
Elaborating further on the importance of human resources development (HRD), the International Labour Office (ILO) (2000) affirmed that development and training improves trainees’ prospects of finding and retaining a job, improves productivity at work, and income earning capacity. It also improves living standards, widens career choices and opportunities. Management experts also argue that a major function of a manager is to develop people and to direct, encourage and train subordinates for optimum utilization. To Stahl (1986), training helps prepare employees for certain jobs that are unique to the public sector.
Training, physically, socially, intellectually and mentally are very essential in facilitating not only the level of productivity but also the development of personnel in organizations. Therefore, training can be put in a context relevant to school administrators. Moreover, knowledge is the ability, the skill, the understanding, the information, which every individual requires in order to function effectively and perform efficiently.
Abiodun (1999) submitted that training is a systematic development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by employees to perform adequately on a given task or job. It can take place in a number of ways, on the job or off the job; in the organization or outside the organization. Adeniyi (1995) observed that staff training and development are work activity that can make very significant contribution to the overall effectiveness and profitability of an organization. He provided a systematic approach to training which covers the main elements of training.
Staff training and development, according to Cumming (1980:118), means “the provision of facilities and opportunities for people to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to perform the jobs for which they are employed, and to develop personal potentials to meet the present and future needs of organisations.” Training is the planned and systematic modification of behaviour through learning events, programs, and instructions which enable individuals to achieve the levels of knowledge, skill, and competence to carry out work efficiently, while development is the growth or realization of a person’s ability and potential through the provision of learning and education experiences in a way that employees will be prepared to take on new responsibilities.
In Nigeria, among the various educational institutions through which the nation hopes to achieve its developmental goals, Colleges of Education were identified among the higher institutions of learning. Following the publication of the National Policy on Education (1977), it articulated the dream of having Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) as the minimum qualification for entry into the Teaching profession. This dream was to be realised by the establishment of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) by its enabling Decree No.3 of April, 1989, thus completing what is known as the “tripod of excellence” (National Universities Commission, NUC; National Board for Technical Education NBTE; and National Commission for Colleges of Education, NCCE) as the supervisory and regulatory bodies of Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education in Nigeria.
Colleges of Education in Nigeria started as an inspiration of external aid from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to the Nigerian Government. (NCCE, 2014). They were named Advanced Teachers Colleges which later transformed into Colleges of Education. Today, Colleges of Education are classified into Federal, State, Military, Religious or Private, according to their proprietors. Another level of classification is according to the bias of the programmes. Thus we have “Conventional,” “Technical,” and “Special” types of Colleges of Education. Undoubtedly, the realisation that Colleges of Education are tools for national development, have led to an unbridled quest for, and vigorous expansion of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (NCCE, 2013). According to a National Commission for Colleges of Education report (2013), “there are one hundred and five (105) accredited Colleges of Education comprising twenty one (21) federal, forty four (44) state owned, thirty eight (38) private, and one (1) each for military and National Teachers Institute (NTI). Colleges of Education are essentially set up to achieve certain stated goals and objectives. According to NCCE Report (2013) broadly, a College of Education’s main functions, among others are:
i) To contribute significantly to meeting in numerical terms the recurrent and expanding needs of a highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for primary and secondary levels of education;
ii) To epitomise a strong tradition of excellence in teaching functional or job oriented research activities, scholarship, institutional organisation and management, and community related services;
iii) To impart to its students the occupational knowledge and skills needed for the teaching of technology relevant to the Nigerian economy as well as develop the capacities for national self management.
The performance of these onerous tasks by Colleges of Education depends upon the quantity, quality, and calibre of the staff the Colleges’ system are able to employ, train, develop and maintain. As aptly captured by Onah (2014:131): –
The inexorable march of time and the ceaseless clamour for social change combine to make adaptability and continuing preparation of the workforce as inevitable as the initial acquisition of knowledge and skills. This cannot happen if staff training and development do not occur in an enterprise. In order to maximize the productivity and efficiency of the organization, every executive, manager, or supervisor in a public or private enterprise has a responsibility and indeed the bounding duty to ensure the development of men and women who have requisite knowledge and expertise. The aim is to enable them to contribute their full measure to the welfare, health, and development of the enterprise.
Likert (1967:1) equally made a similar analysis that: –
All the activities of any enterprise are initiated and determined by the persons who make up that institution. Plants, offices, computers, automated equipment, and all else that a modern firm uses are unproductive except for human effort and direction of all the task of management, managing the human component is the central and most important task because all else depends on how well it is done.
Accordingly, of all the organisational resources which are made up of men, materials, money, machines, and, methods (the 5-m of organisational management), the human resources (men) stand out as most crucial. (Hashim, 2013).
