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Tag: Human capital development

  • Fed Govt seeks global partnerships on human capital development

    Fed Govt seeks global partnerships on human capital development

    The Federal Government has reiterated its willingness to partner with reputable global institutions in strategic investments in human capital development.

    In furtherance of the government’s commitment to skills and capacity development, Vice President Kashim Shettima yesterday hosted a delegation from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, led by Senior Fellow, Dr. Rolf Alter, with a view to fostering synergies and collaborations.

    At the meeting were the Germany Ambassador to Nigeria, Annett Gunther; Director-General, Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Dr. Abdulateef Shittu; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Dunoma Ahmed; representatives of the Director General of the Budget Office, the Gates Foundation, the World Bank and other officials from the Hertie School of Governance among others.

    Shettima restated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu commitment to transforming Nigeria into a continental powerhouse through bold economic reforms and strategic investments in human capital development.

    He said Nigeria is actively seeking expertise from the best global institutions to enhance policy formulation and implementation, particularly in human capital development.

    According to him, the government is determined to harness Nigeria’s demographic strength by investing in the skills and capacity of its people.

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    He noted that human capital development is both an economic imperative and a social necessity, pointing out that the country could only turn its huge population into a demographic dividend when it invests in the human capital development.

    He said: “Skills are very important, and with our Human Capital Development (HCD) 2.0 programme, we are in a position to unleash the full potential of the Nigerian people by enhancing their capacity”.

     He said the President, as a modern leader, is willing to take far-reaching and courageous decisions to reposition the Nigerian economy, urging global institutions to partner with the government in this direction.

    “The current crop of leadership in Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu is ready and willing to unleash the full potential of the Nigerian nation on the African continent. We are laying the groundwork through strategic reforms, and at the heart of it is human capital development,” Shettima said.

    He pointed out that while major economic decisions of the government, including fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange reforms and energy sector reform were all painful processes, Nigerian people would reap the benefits in sustainable economic growth and development.

    He described the Hertie School as a valuable partner in the journey, noting that the school has the track record and institutional knowledge to add value to government’s policy formulation and delivery, especially in this disruptive age.

    He said: “We need the skills and the capacity from your school. The world is now knowledge-driven. I wish to implore you to have a very warm and robust partnership with the government and people of Nigeria”.

    Shettima also acknowledged the vital support of international development partners such as World Bank, European Union, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and all other partners helping to add value to Nigeria.

    Alter congratulated the Tinubu administration for the successful launch and implementation of the ambitious Human Capital Development (HCD) strategy, which was targeted towards the improvement of the lives of the citizens.

    He expressed satisfaction with the outcome of his engagements since arriving in the country, applauding the zeal, commitment, energy and goodwill observed among stakeholders in the implementation of Nigeria’s HCD programme.

    Alter said the Hertie School of Governance would work closely with authorities in Nigeria across different levels to deliver programmes that are specifically designed to address the unique needs of the country.

    He, however, stressed the need for government officials at different levels to be agile and amenable to the dynamics of the evolving world, particularly as Nigeria attempts to successfully accelerate its human capital development aspirations.

  • Human Capital Development – Empowering Nigerians for global competitiveness

    Human Capital Development – Empowering Nigerians for global competitiveness

    By Dahiru Ali

    The growth and development of Third World economies are usually hampered, largely, by the extractive nature of their productive bases. This developmental challenge is quite rife in the African continent.

    Take Nigeria as an example; the highest revenue the country ever recorded from the export of crude oil in a year was $35 billion in 2011. As an absolute figure, the amount may seem impressive but it peters out significantly if compared with the country’s productive potential per capita.

    Nigeria is often referenced in very superlative terms as a land brimming with abundant natural and human resources. Nigerians speak of their country with great pride. Of course, they deserve the bragging right. Nigeria is a rich country of very happy people. One in every four black people in the world is a Nigerian, it is claimed. With a GDP of $474.5 billion as of 2019, and growing at 3.19 per cent in 2024, Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa.

    Unfortunately, the Nigerian economy is dependent on the export of oil and other natural produce for its mainstay. In other words, several decades of pivoting Nigeria’s development effort on finite resources have not led to much. This has led successive federal administrations to promise diversification of the productive base of the Nigerian economy, with most, if not all of them, failing to walk the talk.

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    The most epochal decision to catalyse the economic potential of the Nigerian economy on a sustainable basis was taken in 2018 when the National Economic Council (NEC) initiated the National Human Capital Development Program to address poverty and ensure sustainable economic growth.

    This decision may have arisen from the realization that the most strategic growth plan is that which targets individuals as economic agents, or the engine room that drives much needed growth and development on a sustainable basis.

    According to NEC, the “HCD Program is an effort to accelerate more and better-streamlined investments in people for equitable and economic growth in Nigeria.”

    At this juncture, it is timely to address the subject matter of Human Capital Development.

    The World Bank Human Development Project defines human capital as consisting “of the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate throughout their lives, enabling them to realize their potential as productive members of society.” In other words, HCD is the painstaking exercise of transforming the human population of a society from being a liability to an economic asset that is required for the transformation of such society along a positive growth trajectory.

     According to the National Economic Council (NEC) HCD document: “Over the past decade, many of the key metrics relating to Human Capital Development (HCD) in Nigeria have been going in the wrong direction. Nigeria’s performance across all major global HCD indices, including the United Nations Human Capital Index, the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Expected Human Capital Index, and the World Bank Human Capital Index, is below the global average, as well as below the average for developing economies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).”

    The reasons for this high rate of underdevelopment of the human capital are not far-fetched, taking into account the low level of budgetary provisioning for education, decrepit state of infrastructure, pervasive state of insecurity and global economic headwinds.

    In boosting a lifeline for the country, the race towards developing the human capital assets of Nigeria may appear belated but the next best time is NOW!

     It is the cornerstone from which the building blocks of the Nigerian economy, post-Covid shall be aligned in aid of the realising the overarching objective of establishing a knowledge-based economy.

    According to the vice president, Kashim Shettima, chairman of the NEC, driver of the Human Capital Development project, the “Program is a lifeline for our nation and built on the collective realization that enough is enough. Enough of the cycles that have held us back; enough of the legacies of unplanned high fertility rates and alarming maternal and under-five mortality rates.”

    Shettima who spoke while launching the Nasarawa State Human Capital Development in Lafia declared that HCD is a treasure which contains solutions to Nigeria’s human “capital challenges by focusing on education, health, and workforce development.”

    Nigeria’s Human Capital Development project is now in the second phase (HCD 2.0) with emphasis on gender and equal opportunities, climate change and sustainability, digital economy and financial inclusion as well as food and nutrition.

    With steady progress being made in attaining the set targets in the three thematic areas of health, education and skills, labour force participation and livelihoods, coupled with the avowed determination of the vice president, as well as the HCD Secretariat towards the attainment of these goals, the presidency is not just walking the talk this time, but resolved to surpass its own targets.

    This is self-evident from the vice president’s declaration that “The unemployment rates, the growing informal sector, and low labour force participation must be reversed. This is the dystopia our Human Capital Development Program is designed to abate, under the mandate of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. For so long, at the National Economic Council, we have debated the ideal nation we wish to build and the paths we are to achieve it.”

    •Ali is an Abuja-based business executive.

  • Osinbajo to govs: Stop blame game

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday urged governors and other stakeholders to stop the blame game and focus on human capital development in their respective areas.

    He spoke during the launch of Human Capital Development Programme: Healthy, Educated and Productive Nigerians for a Globally Competitive Nation by 2030 at the extended National Economic Council (NEC), meeting at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Advising them to resist playing politics with issues, he said that it was time to get the job done.

    The Vision 2030 focuses on the Human Capital Development hinged on health and nutrition, education and labour force participation.

    Osinbajo said: “There is no denying that debilitating levels of poverty existed in spite of huge earnings in the past.

    “We are doing exactly what countries like India and Brazil did in similar situation for instance kick-starting the Social Investment Programme (SIP).

    “Concerted collaboration is required now so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. Constant communication with the people is equally important because the resources belong to them.”

    He stressed the needs to promote transparency, accountability and improving existing data.

    Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, said governors have been working hard to make the economy work in a more transparent manner.

    He said they remained accountable to the people, adding “we have tried to make sure that every cent is spent.”

  • Osinbajo unveils vision to accelerate human capital development

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday unveiled Nigeria’s vision to accelerate human capital development by the year 2030.

    He made the presentation during the extended National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

    Noting that 112 million Nigerians were living in extreme poverty in 2012, he said that the Buhari government introduced the Social Investment Programmes (SIP) to change the story.

    He said that the Buhari’s administration is now on the right path and everything must be done to stick to the path.

    He said: “About nine months ago we convened a similar gathering here at the State House, along with some of our most supportive partners and philanthropists, to discuss this very vital issue of Human Capital Development.

    “The debate that followed made it very clear to all that this issue is perhaps the most important in our country today. What can be more important than the well being of the people we serv.

    “As a government we are fully aware of this, and are committed to ensuring that we positively transform the Nigerian experience as it relates to the quality of life and wellbeing of our people.

    “There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria has struggled with debilitating levels of poverty for several decades, in spite of our huge potential. Indeed the result of last poverty study done by the NBS in 2012 showed that 112 million Nigerians were living in extreme poverty.

    “When we came into office in 2015, three things were very clear: one, that we needed to move quickly and ambitiously in our response to the issues of poverty and malnutrition and disease and illiteracy.

    “Two, there would be no quick fixes or miracles cures. It would be a long and painful journey out of the status quo. And we would need to be patient and consistent in the implementation of our interventions.

    “Three: just as we are reaping in the present the consequences of the poor decisions we have taken in the past, we can change the consequences that await us in the future by changing the decisions we take is in the present.

    “These realisations have guided us over the last three years, even as we have developed a vision for a Nigeria that is healthy, educated and positioned to fully unleash its development potential.

    “This is what informed the creation and implementation of our Social Investment Programme, which is now the largest in Africa; a multi-faceted intervention simultaneously targeting poverty, hunger, unemployment, financial exclusion, and the absence of skills needed for our large youth population to thrive in the 21st century.” he

    He also disclosed that every country that has taken significant numbers of its population has had to put in place a robust Social Investment Policy.

    “India which had the largest number of poor people in absolute terms did exactly what we are doing….microcredit, government jobs programme, school feeding, cash transfers etc,

    “Since that March meeting, the Social Investment Programme has seen a significant expansion. We have added more than 2 million children to our School Feeding Programme, we now have in excess of 9 million school children being fed daily across 26 States.

    “N-Power, our Jobs Scheme for unemployed graduates has more than doubled since then, to cater to 500,000 beneficiaries. And our Trader Moni Microcredit scheme for petty traders excluded from formal lending opportunities has now benefited well over a million people. Market MONI which started earlier had benefitted
    In terms of healthcare, we have recorded a landmark accomplishment: the setting up of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, with seed funding of 1 percent of our Consolidated Revenue Fund, as outlined in the National Health Act.

    “I am pleased to say that Nigeria is for the first time complying with these stipulations since the Act was signed into law in 2014. The Vision to accelerate Human Capital Development by 2030 has the….All of what I have listed above are efforts and input.

    “Ultimately it is the outcomes that are most important. We must be able to show that all of what we are doing and investing is producing tangible results in the quality of lives of our citizens.

    “The end goal is a country, where it is not a miracle for infants to live to and beyond the age of 5, where our children are in no danger of malnutrition, where every child is guaranteed access to quality basic education, where a basic minimum package of healthcare benefits is guaranteed to every citizen and no one is shut out because of the cost,
    Nigerians everywhere deserve to live healthy, educated and productive lives, regardless of where in Nigeria they live or what God they worship or what language they speak.”

    By the nature of Nigerian constitutional arrangements, he said that the Federal government must work with State governments and the State governments must work with each other on the issue.

    He added “The only way to succeed is by recognizing that this is a joint and several responsibility. This is not and should never be a platform for blame-games and buck-passing.

    “These have not worked in the past, and will not work now. Nothing short of concerted collaboration is required from all of us, across all tiers of government and with the partnership and support of the private sector, traditional and religious and community leaders, and the international community.

    “There is much learning to be shared and exchanged, to ensure that we are not repeating mistakes that have already been made, and to ensure that we are allocating resources in maximally efficient ways.

    “Very importantly, there is the work of communicating, of carrying Nigerians along, making the vision clear and simple to them, and transparently showing how the resources – which belong to them – are being deployed to work for their benefit.

    “We must never underestimate the importance of communicating and ensuring that we get the buy-in of the citizens on behalf of whom we are holding public office.

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    “Last but not the least is the importance of collecting credible data to support our programmes and policies and to accurately measure their impact. What cannot be measured, it has been said, cannot be managed. The wisdom of this truism should always stay with us.

    “We must find ways of improving the quality of the data we collect, and the timeliness. And we must resist the temptation to play politics with these statistics, or be overly defensive when they don’t cast us in very good light.

    “The lesson is to listen to what the data is telling us, and to vigorously look for ways to respond robustly with policy interventions.

    “I have no doubt that we are on the right path. But we must stick to this path. We cannot afford anything that will slow us down or take us away from these commitments that we have started implementing.

    “We owe it to all the people of Nigeria, young and old, male and female, especially the poorest and most vulnerable amongst us, to improve the quality of lives they lead, and the quality of healthcare, education and jobs accessible to them.

    “It is now my special, pleasure to present Nigeria’s Vision to Accelerate Human Capital Development by 2030.” he said.

  • Osinbajo restates Nigeria’s commitment to human capital development

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday night said that the Nigerian government will continue to drive initiatives to get more Nigerians out of poverty and improve the country’s Human Capital Development indices.

    He made the remark during a meeting of the National Economic Council’s Human Capital Development Core Working Group at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The meeting covered a presentation on Prioritizing and Improving the Human Capital Development base in Nigeria.

    Read Also:We need creative ways of tackling poverty-Osinbajo

    Osinbajo said government was committed to driving initiatives to accelerate human capital development in the country, because “lifting our people out of poverty is a crucial agenda towards attaining intended developmental outcomes.”

    He said “Poverty as we know is both a cause and consequence of some of what we are looking at in our human capital development deficit. Really, I think we need to focus a lot more on some of the more creative ways of getting our people out of poverty.

    “And of course, we have some social investment programmes, we are looking at some of the examples of what India did, some have been tried and tested in such huge populations.

    “I think there is a need for us to sensitize our people to why it is that we need to get a large segment of our people out of poverty. Recently, we’ve been launching the TraderMoni scheme, which is basically giving credits to petty traders across the country in the markets and all that.

    “We must do even more in terms of giving credits and whatever assistance and support to people, obviously the more money people have, the better it is for them, so they can apply their little resources to some of what we are expected to do to improve human capital development.” he said

    Osinbajo also highlighted the importance of improving data collection at all levels so as to ensure effective tracking of Human Capital Development outcome areas in the states.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Nigerian industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who is a member of the committee, called on the private sector to support government in driving human capital development in Nigeria.

    He said: “Why I joined the committee is to make sure that we have targets and we meet those targets.

    “But I also think that health, education and empowerment should not be seen as government jobs.  It should also be private sector job.  Unless we make this place work, even our own businesses are at risk.

    “All of us need to support government to make sure that these things are done properly.

    “It’s not something that you will sit down and say government is not doing well.

    “It is like clapping; you cannot clap with one hand. So, unless private sector also joins, these things would not be done.” he added

    Dangote also advised the federal government to empower the states and the local governments to enable them to implement policies developed for the development of human capital.

    According to him, the Dangote Foundation has committed over $50million dollars to fight malnutrition in most of the states that are affected.

    “Most of the states that have problems with primary healthcare, polio and routine immunization, we are actually funding 70% of their budget and they are funding 30%,” he stated.

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who represented North West at the meeting, said the Steering Committee received a presentation on the framework for further investments in the key areas of health, education, social inclusion as well as empowerment.

    “We had a very good meeting and we hope that the outcome of the meeting and the work of the core working group will bring out very clear plans and strategies to invest more in education, healthcare, nutrition, empowerment, gender inclusion as well as job creation for our young people.”

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said the working group was looking at how to make Nigerians live longer and better; and how to improve skills their skills.

    Adewole said there was renewed commitment from both the federal government and the states towards the development of human capital.

    Membership of the Steering Committee, which is chaired by the Vice President, comprises the ministers of finance; budget and national planning; education, health and labour.

    Six governors, one representing each of the geo-political zones; development partners such as the World Bank, DFID, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dangote Foundation are also members of the group.

  • Cleric tasks FG on human capital development

    The Branch Pastor of Rhema Chapel Ketu, Pastor Olushola Obikanye, has called on the federal government to place more priorities on human capital development in the 2018 budget.

    Obikanye spoke at the fourth edition of the business seminiar organised recently by the church.

    He said investment in human capital of any society is investing in the engine room of development of the country.

    He noted that the failure of the system to invest appropriately in human capital over the years has led to increase in all forms of criminalities among the youths.

    He noted budgets on arms and defence in most developing countries have gone up because government failed to place more premium on developing the human mind, brain and hands for productive ventures.

    The economic expert lamented the budget for human capital development in the 2018 budget is abysmally low and could hinder the much anticipated growth and development in the country.

    He noted Nigeria has over 60 percent youth population, which will only be deployed with human capital development.

  • Workers hail Ajimobi for human capital development

    Participants at a two-day “train-the-trainers” workshop for civil servants in Oyo State have hailed Governor Abiola Ajimobi for his commitment to the welfare and development of the workforce.

    This was contained in a communiqué at the end of the workshop, held in Ibadan yesterday, with the theme: “The Imperatives of Change Management in Oyo State Public Service.”

    The communiqué said the participants resolved to embrace work practices, which would enhance productivity and efficiency in the civil service.

    Some of the resolutions include, “emphasising recruitment based on merit; attitudinal change among workers to ensure better service delivery and continuous capacity building of workers through training and re-training.”

    Others are “constant review of relevant extant rules, regulations, circulars and general orders; clearer definition of the mission and vision of MDAs for effective service delivery and effective deployment of technology in day-to-day operations.”

    Secretary to the State Government Mr. Olalekan Alli delivered a keynote address at the workshop. The lead paper was delivered by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Efficiency, Dr. Isaac Ayandele.

    Resource persons included retired permanent secretaries and seasoned administrators, while participants comprised officials of the efficiency unit of MDAs and political appointees.

  • Invest in human capital development, govt told

    Invest in human capital development, govt told

    Chief Executive Officer, Anabel Group, Dr Nicholas Okoye has stressed the need for government and corporate bodies to invest in people as against infrastructural development.

    Speaking at press interactive session, Okoye lamented the quantum leap in the youth unemployment and the extent to which many Nigerians depend entirely on the government to provide everything.

    But Okoye who spoke extensively on the strategy for entrepreneurship development explained that there should be a deliberate and consistent policy to expose our youths to entrepreneurial training while the older people should be equally trained and supported.

    “Our National Development Strategy Services should be people-oriented. It is good to invest in infrastructural development but it is better to invest in the people who will drive the infrastructure. There is no country that has made progress without development of its people. Our youths have formed an army of unemployed. The list is becoming elongated by the day. There is a great misconception about empowerment of people. Many Nigerians regard empowerment as giving money to people in the name of ‘national cake’. This is not so. Empowerment is more of exposing people to the right skills and such people can efficiently manage the resources,” Okoye noted.

    According to him, Anabel Group operates on strategy, leadership and entrepreneurship and the company has developed a number of products aimed at developing entrepreneurship spirit among different segments of Nigerian society.

    Commenting on the entrepreneurial products, Okoye noted that Anabel developed start-up Nigeria, a programme that supports entrepreneurs with the right skills and resources.

    “We also have Entrepreneurship Development Programme for Women and Senior Entrepreneurs. This focuses on networking, identifying global sources of necessary information and strategic communication. As of now, our focus is on oil and gas, power and information technology sectors. We organise coalition of super mentors for youths as part of our Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR). Over 55,000 Nigerians have benefited from our coaching and each of them has testimonies,” he said.

    Okoye lamented that many entrepreneurs in Nigeria lack bankable projects, skills and proper orientation on the attributes of an entrepreneur.

  • Sterling Bank, FSD sign pact on human capital development

    Sterling Bank Plc has signed a partnership agreement with Field of Skills and Dreams (FSD), a vocational training institution to provide training programmes for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

    The pact, the bank said, is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drive towards supporting skill acquisition among youths to prepare them for self-employment.

    Under the agreement, the bank will sponsor the training of NYSC corps members in various vocations during the course of their service year in alignment with its expressed purpose of enriching lives. The lender has so far funded the training of about 100 NYSC members in various vocations during the pilot stage through the NYSC-SAED (Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development.

    It has also equipped a 20-seat ICT laboratory of the FSD which will provide all participants with rotational access to free ICT training.

    Sterling Bank in a statement explained that the need to support the development of skills among the youth has become inevitable given the growing rate of unemployment in the country. “We believe that the steps we have taken so far would help in ameliorating the problem of unemployment in the country and support other initiatives such as  the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) and the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOU-WIN) introduced by the government to checkmate the relatively high rate of unemployment in the country”.

     

  • ‘Human capital development vital for organisational growth’

    ‘Human capital development vital for organisational growth’

    Human capital develop-ment is vital for the development of any organisation, and every organisation should endeavour to highlight the importance of human beings so that it can achieve its desired aims.

    Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Olusegun Abiru, stated this while speaking at a one-day capacity building lecture organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly for its senior staff with the theme: ‘Managing Human Capital for Legislative Excellence: A Case Study of the Lagos State Assembly’, which took place at the Assembly complex at the weekend.

    According to Abiru, manpower planning ensures that people do the right thing at the right time.

    The clerk, who praised the management of the House for developing the members of staff through constant training, said at the third quarterly lecture of the house, that the staff of the assembly are rated for their performances wherever they go.

    “The most important resource is the human capital and we need to develop the human resource for the organisation to function effectively. We started the lecture series to develop the staff of the assembly and I can tell you that we have been seeing the results,” he said.

    Abiru, however, said that a situation where lawmakers sack their aides indiscriminately has been resisted by the assembly.

    He said that he has made it clear to the lawmakers that due process must be followed in relieving any legislative aide of his/her duty unlike what was being done in the past.

    According to him, “I have told them that they cannot sack their aides without informing my office, and even when they inform me, I would still follow the due process before the person is relieved of his or her job.”

    The Director of Finance and Administration, Mr. Azeez Sanni, who delivered the keynote address, emphasised that human resource is the most important of all the factors of production as it is the force that drives other resources namely; land, capital and others.

    He revealed that management studies have shown that if employees were not managed properly, the organisation faces serious problems of falling apart.

    “Therefore, directorates in-charge of human resource are expected to bring out the best in the organisation’s personnel with the sole aim of collectively contributing positively to the attainment of its set goals and objectives and thereby ensuring quality service delivery to the citizenry,” he said.

    Sanni dwelt on the efforts of the assembly in the area of recruitment, promotion and discipline, adding that the passage of the law establishing the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission (LAHASCOM), matters affecting the recruitment, promotion and discipline of staffers of the assembly are the responsibilities of the commission.

    According to him, “the leadership of the house places great emphasis on capacity building of the assembly’s officials, that is, the honourable members and staff. This explains why appreciable sum is usually allocated to training and re-training in the assembly’s budget on yearly basis.”

    He maintained that the exposure of the members of staff to capacity building programmes designed for legislators had been a deliberate policy to engender cross fertilisation of ideas, adding that efforts are also in top gear to consistently improve on this and to expose staffers to more capacity building activities in line with the organisation or individual needs.