The Nation Newspaper

Tag: capacity building

  • Emefiele, WAIFEM chair, harp on capacity building

    Emefiele, WAIFEM chair, harp on capacity building

    The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and the Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia and Chairman, Board of Governors of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Milton Alvin, have said that capacity deficits remained a major challenge facing countries in the West African region.

    The bank chiefs who spoke at the 20th anniversary of the WAIFEM in Lagos, said that weak human capital development has impacted negatively on the economies within the African region.

    Emefiele, represented by the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr Sarah, said that the socio-economic capacity deficits had been a challenge in the region in spite of the efforts to achieve sustainable development.

    He said: “Those deficits continue to inhibit efforts in implementing their developmental strategies and policies and in achieving their desires development outcomes.” According to him, weak capacity in its various dimensions has continued to be the  problem of the continent.

    Alvin said WAIFEM had recorded success story in its efforts to access the best human resources across the region. He added that WAIFEM as an institute had over the years engaged cost effectiveness in operations.

  • Sahara Power pledges more investment in capacity building

    Sahara Power pledges more investment in capacity building

    The management of Sahara Power has restated its commitment to sustained human capital development investment in Nigeria’s power sector to ensure enhanced productivity and seamless skill transfer.

    Managing Director, Sahara Power, Kola Adesina stated this at a strategy session tagged “Human Capital Development in Nigeria’s power Sector”.

    He said positive outcomes from the firm’s Graduate Engineering Programme has set the foundation for increased funding to drive sundry capacity building initiatives in the organisation.

    An affiliate of Sahara Group, a leading African energy conglomerate, Sahara Power comprises Egbin Power Plc, Ikeja Electric (IE) and First Independent Power Limited (FIPL). The company and its technical partner, Korea Electric Corporation (KEPCO) are currently implementing a transformation plan across these power entities that is shoring up power generation and distribution in Nigeria.

    Adesina noted that the programme would help address the gulf created by an ageing workforce in the sector. Industry experts say the dearth of young engineers and technical staff remains a huge challenge for the sector that needs about 50,000 young skilled engineers, craftsmen and fitters to replace the ageing workforce – according to a recent report released by the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN).

    The GEP currently has 100 young graduate engineers spread across Egbin Power, IE and FIPL. These engineers are being trained by seasoned Nigerian and foreign professionals under the scheme which also involves local and overseas exchange programmes.

    Adesina said Sahara Power‘s management had set aside substantial funds to drive a holistic human capital policy that will cater to the specific needs of all employees within the organisation. He explained that the unfolding “people success story” at Sahara Power is predicated on strategic re-engineering and re-orientation activities designed to enhance capacity and efficiency.

    This he said is also backed by a change management process that has continued to fuel a performance driven culture among the legacy and new employees across the group.

    “We are quite pleased with the impact of our policy on the work ethic and professional drive of our staff across the organisation. The legacy staff and new employees are bound by an unwavering desire to light up Nigeria by working harder and smarter in line with recent global trends. We will definitely set aside more funds for capacity building as we see Sahara Power as the future hub of power sector experts on the continent,” he said.

  • BoI plans capacity building for ex-militants

    BoI plans capacity building for ex-militants

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the Niger Delta are to provide capacity and funding support for ex-militants.

    The deal is being struck by the two agencies of the Federal Government  to wind down the amnesty programme by 2018.

    Speaking during the meeting, which took place at the head office of BoI in Abuja, the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the Niger Delta, Brig-Gen. Paul Boro (rtd), said the programme office would need the support of the development finance institution on capacity building to enable the ex-militants channel their energies into productive ventures.

    Boro, who is also the Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta, noted that apart from the provision of adequate funding support, the ex-militants require training in various Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) value chain.

    He noted that he needed to draw up a two-year exit plan for the ex-agitators to enable them acquire relevant skills that would enable them contribute their own quota to the economic development of the country.

    He explained that 5, 000 ex-militants would exit the programme in each quarter for the next two years after receiving requisite capacity building and skills acquisition trainings.

    BoI Acting Managing Director, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, noted that the bank had drawn up specific programmes targeted towards harnessing the potential of the youths to enable them provide employment, not only for themselves, but also for others.

    He, however, argued that various researches had indicated that contrary to some widely held views, capacity, not inadequate capital, is actually the problem of small business operators in Nigeria.

    To increase access to loans, particularly for the youth, Waheed said  the bank had adjusted its risk acceptance criteria, moving it away from provision of collateral to having officials, either from the private or public sector who is not below level 12 standing as surety in case of default.

    He said it is in the bank’s interest to provide capacity for not only the youths in the restive Niger Delta, but also in the entire nation.

    “And BoI has been in the vanguard of that through its youth centred initiatives such as Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) designed for serving members of the National Youth Service Corps, in partnership with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) scheme and Vocational Skills Competition programme,” Waheed said.

  • Agric college, Switzerland partner on capacity building

    The Federal College of Agriculture, Akure is  collaborating with the  Switzerland Government project to  develop manpower in the sector.

    Known as Capacity Building for Agricultural Education in Nigeria, the project is to be implemented by Switzerland School of Agricultural Forest and Food Sciences on behalf of the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) in collaboration with the institution.

    The project, the Provost, Dr  Samson Adeola said, has been developed within the framework of the Migration Partnership between Nigeria and Switzerland established in February 2011.

    It   aimed to expand the dialogue and to enhance the cooperation migration between the two partner nations and to find constructive solutions to the challenges of global migration – in a spirit of partnership and trust.

    Odedina said  the  project to  last   two years would consolidate on the achievements already recorded by the college during pilot and first phases of the project where the College excelled.

    Specifically the project is intended to build the capacity of small scale farmers.

    He said the development is a further recognition of the college as a leading provider of agricultural education in the world system.

    He therefore enjoined the Organised Private Sector (OPS), especially the agro-allied industries to partner with the college in capacity building to attain the objectives of the Federal Government through  Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) especially in training young and emerging farmers on value chain opportunities.

  • HOS urges partnership with CBN on capacity building

    HOS urges partnership with CBN on capacity building

    Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOS), Mr Danladi Kifasi has called for partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in capacity building and skills development for public servants in the country.

    Kifasi, who paid a courtesy call on the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele in his office in Abuja, said collaboration between relevant stakeholders and development institutions has become necessary in order to help build a modern public service that would provide world class service for sustainable national development.

    He observed that most civil servants lack the requisite skills to compete favourably with their counterparts in developed countries, which necessitated the need to leverage on CBN as one of the key institutions that provides effective and efficient service delivery to Nigerians and the entire African continent.

    Responding, Emefiele said part of the mandate of the apex bank is to impact positively on the lives of Nigerians in terms of job creation and capacity building. He said the call for collaboration was timely as the bank had put in place a world class international training institute with state-of-the-art facilities for capacity building for all Nigerians.

     

  • World Bank, IBS partner on capacity building

    World Bank, IBS partner on capacity building

    The  World Bank is partnering the Ibadan Business School (IBS) on capacity building.

    This is the first time the global  institution will be working with the institution.

    The deal would enable the institution to deliver training programmes for the public sector and the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs), by leveraging on the World Bank.

    “The nation is facing the challenge of transiting from a developing to a developed state, where the private sector will drive the economy. Developing this strategic missing link is the focus of IBS and we are happy that the World Bank has identified our strong point and has decided to partner with us in this regard,” said the President/Founder of the school, Mr. Yinka Fasuyi.

    He expressed optimism that the partnership would be of  benefit to the economy, considering that the World Bank will make available to the IBS its training programmes for the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of all the three tiers of government and also the MSMEs.

    In a letter to IBS, dated August 29, this year, the World Bank, said: “We have since visited your facilities and I am happy to inform you that the World Bank is willing to partner with your institution and to introduce your programmes to World Bank supported project teams in Nigeria.”

    The IBS Board Chairman Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, , said the partnership represented an endorsement of the school’s programmes.  He described the deal as unique, saying the IBS is the only business school in the country that tailored its programmes to suit the need of the economy.

    A former Managing Director of Oodua Group of Companies and director of the institution, Dr. Adebayo Jimoh, described the partnership good. He said the  recognition by the World Bank had shown that IBS was on the right path in building the critical capacity needed to grow the economy.

    Jimoh explained that unlike other business schools, IBS develops programmes  tailored towards the economy, using indigenous case studies in discovering the secrets why some local brands have not only become successful, but have emerged on the global scene despite the challenges militating against businesses in the country.

    IBS’s Vice Chairman, Chief Wole Olanipekun, said the partnership, was a confirmation that the school is not a regional or a local, but a global institution which offers global solutions to local situations.

    For him, if within two years of its establishment, the school had attracted the attention of the global bank,  it means it could rank at par and could proudly compare itself with the best business schools anywhere.

    “We may not appreciate it now, soon, Nigerians will recognise that a big bang has taken off in the country,” he said.

  • Union Bank backs capacity building for journalists

    Union Bank backs capacity building for journalists

    Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has in partnership with Businessday Training Division trained financials journalists on the road map to adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by the government.

    Speaking at the opening session of the training, the bank’s Head of Corporate Affairs and Corporate Communication, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, said the lender is excited in co-sponsoring the workshop because it considers financial reporting as critical for stakeholders to understand so that they would be guided in taking informed decision.

    She said the lender will continue to support and promote excellence and professionalism in journalistic practice in the country.

    The one day training workshop which held in Lagos had selected financial journalists drawn from print and electronic media. It was meant to equip the participants with knowledge of the IFRS requirements, so they could report accurately details about companies‘ financials as stipulated by law.

    The participants were guided by professional accountants on the new standards and format of the IFRS, required to be adopted by all companies operating in Nigeria.

    These areas include property, plant and equipment, inventory, revenue, employee benefits, extractive industries, as wells as the tax implication of the IFRS conversion, among other issues.

  • Access Bank, GRI, SIDA partner on capacity building

    Access Bank has collaborated with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Focal Point South Africa, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, (SIDA) and Thistle Praxis on sustainability capacity building in Nigeria.

    Speaking yesterday at the G4 Sustainability Reporting Guideline Training Workshop, Access Bank’s Group Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe, said the partnership gives the bank opportunity to demonstrate its leadership in the areas of responsible business practices and sustainability.

    Wigwe, who was represented by the bank’s Chief Risk Officer, Gregory Jobome, said sustainability and responsible business practices are important to the bank and consistent with its pedigree in championing and supporting sustainability initiatives across Africa.

    He said the bank had in the past, organised several workshops and conferences, notable among which is the Nigerian Sustainability Banking Principles (NSBP) Steering Committee Meeting in partnership with IFC and AccessConference2013 where global leaders deliberated on Embracing Sustainable Leadership as its theme.

    “These corporate actions are a testimony to the bank’s sustained efforts at nation building and support for the Nigerian financial services sector in achieving a seamless integration of sustainable business practices into the core of its business operations,” he said.

    He said the workshop was meant to empower participants with the requisite knowledge of sustainability reporting.

    Head, GRI Focal Point South Africa, Mr. Douglas Kativu, encouraged Nigeria to step up the standard in the practice of sustainability reporting, given the size and relevance of the country to global economy.