ITF BOSS SAYS THAT AN ECONOMY WHICH IS KNOWLEDGEABLE IS IMPORTANT FOR THE NATION'S ECONOMY.

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The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Industrial Fund (ITF), Dr. Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko has underscored the need for organisations to adequately equip their workforce to contribute to national growth and development.

According to her, knowledge based economy was required to keep abreast in areas of specialisation, in order to remain relevant and competitive in the workplace.

Speaking during the 48th Human Resource Development seminar of ITF held recently in Lagos, she said the seminar was timely, putting into consideration the need to sustain the momentum for organisational growth and sustainability in Nigeria.

According to the ITF DG, the need for strategic workforce planning in the nation’s economy cannot be overemphasised as studies have shown that most organisations are not very effective in predicting future talent demands.

Speaking further, she said, it has become imperative for organisations to adopt an efficient and effective approach to workforce planning noting that her organisation is particularly concerned about the continued relevance and success regarding the accomplishment of the mandate.

"We recognise that in the pursuit of this, we experience a high attrition rate on our staff by way of retirement, transfer of service and general staff turnover. The vacancies created by these groups need to be adequately filled without creating a gap in performance. This is why strategic workforce planning is inevitable in all proactive establishments.

"The choice of ITF as an agency to drive the skill content of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan attests to these roles. It gladdens my heart even more that the Fund could sustain the tempo of the Human Resource Development (HRD) seminar thus far. Obviously, with a knowledge based economy, the need to keep abreast of happenings in one's field of specialisation in order to remain relevant and competitive becomes pertinent", she added.

Speaking also at the occasion, the Director of Research and Curriculum at the ITF, Mrs Folusho Samuel, said the fund will continue to initiate actions that will create a perfect workforce capable to driving the nation’s economy forward.

She explained the seminar is part of ITF strategies to improve build capacities, create opportunities for entrepreneurship and self development and employment.

Chairman of the seminar, Mr. Kachi Okezie expressed optimism that Africa would not be written off in the area of economic growth and development, given the relevant skill training by the ITF.

He however called on all training institutions in the country to rise up to the challenge of training students in skills capable of uplifting the nation's development and growth.

NEWS CREDIT