Lagos State Government has said that it gives training and upgrading of knowledge of its officials a priority, disclosing that it had in the last one year trained 60,000 of its officers.
The State Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Mr Afolabi Ayantayo, made this known on Friday at a press briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, which was part of the activities to mark the first year of the second term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
This was just as the commissioner equally disclosed that the retirees were also given prompt attention, stating that the state government had from 2019 till date, paid N63.8billion to 19,814 retirees, who cut across all cadres.
Ayantayo, while noting that his ministry established Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC) and Lagos State Pension Commission to continuously improve workers’ welfare and it strives to make Lagos a leading government agency focused on human development and employee well-being, said the state government organised conferences for its workers which provided them opportunities to learn about new trends, network with experts, and share best practices.
Besides, he said the state government also encouraged its employees to go for professional studies to deepen their knowledge, adding: “The government invested in its employees’ professional development by approving further studies for 3,087 officers.”
According to him, this initiative allowed them to deepen their knowledge and gain advanced qualifications relevant to their jobs, saying that the state government also sponsored 120 employees to attend industry conferences to improve their knowledge and skills.
Speaking further, Ayantayo disclosed that the state government equally introduced groundbreaking Learning Management System (LMS) in Year 2020, saying that such was part of the initiatives that significantly increased the number of officers trained and addressed the growing demands and challenges facing the State Public Service thereby making it possible to train over 60,000 Officers in a year.
“Under the Human Capacity Development programme, the state government has undertaken measures to boost internal capacity of officers within the Public Service. These initiatives represent government’s commitment to promoting professional growth, enhancing performance, and driving excellence across various departments and agencies,” he said.
Ayantayo explained that, as part of commitment of the state government to exposing its staff to more knowledge the state Governor approved further studies for a significant number of officers who were 84,306 in number and even accommodated those who already completed their academic studies without prior permission.
“This move aims to strengthen the state’s workforce by recognizing the acquired knowledge and skills.
“Retroactive approval encourages further education by showing appreciation for employees initiative and potentially preventing career roadblocks,” the commissioner said.
On plan for retirees, he said the state governor was doing everything within her capacity to pay the backlog of arrears of pensions and gratuity owed them, saying that by next year all the arrears owed the pensioners would have been settled.
This was just as he assured that from next year, retirees would get their benefit as soon as they retired from the service of the state government.
He explained that to continuously improve workers’ welfare, his ministry established Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC) and Lagos State Pension Commission strived to make Lagos a leading government agency focused on human development and employee well-being.
He said the Ministry also conducted a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) to identify areas for improvement in the State Public Service. “This analysis provided key insights into:Knowledge needed by officers, Skills required for effective job performance, Competencies essential to achieving the State Government’s vision, and there is need to conduct the TNA beforehand, the Ministry ensured training interventions were:Relevant to officers’ specific needs aligned with the State Government’s goals,” he said.
