Lagos invests in strategic management development for directors

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said the state will sustain investments in the development of needed capacity for its workforce, to align it with current global trends.

The government, through the Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions partnered with Messrs. Novo Consult Limited in Lagos, to conduct a four-day workshop for its directors with the theme: Effective strategic management for repositioning and higher responsibilities.”

Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner, Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, maintained that the state had flagged off various training, seminars and programmes aimed at making the state’s civil service more proactive to various needs of the citizens.

He stated that the training became necessary due to the roles the directors play in the state. He said it is aimed at restrategising the workforce, stressing that the state seeks to ensure its workforce get the best of training in the country and compete globally.

He said: “The workforce remains the real engine of growth of our economy. Presently, Lagos is the best in the whole of Nigeria. The governor has decided to ensure continuous and adequate exercise to enable the public service in the state, which is the real engine room, to compete effectively with their counterparts not only in Nigeria, but in the United Kingdom, United States and other developed economies.

“We are not limiting our success to only Nigeria. We are thinking of how to make our public servants compete favourably in any condition they find themselves across the country, Africa and in the world. The enormous value that knowledge and skills training bring to bear on the attainment of the strategic objectives of the government and the public service of Lagos State cannot be overemphasized.’’

He said officers participating in the training would be the ambassadors and seed-propagating agents of the administration’s resolve to re-orientate the Lagos State Public Service, saying that at the end of the training, the directors would imbibe strategies that would make them discharge their duties more effectively.

The commissioner said further: “It is always helpful to remember that an effective strategy provides a picture of the desired long-term future. In order to make sound day-to-day decisions, all members of the organisation must be able to begin with the end in mind. All steps must, ultimately, keep the state on course toward the long-term objective.

“Effective strategy results from the varied inputs of a diverse group of thinkers and participants in strategic decision-making must be free to state contrary opinions. It is my expectation that all participants would obtain a firm grasp of these steps and fully comprehend the demands they make on management before the end of this training. Furthermore, I hope the analysis above underscores the importance of this seminar for the Lagos State Public Service.”