TRAINING CRITICAL FOR SUCCESS OF INDUSTRILIZATION IN A’IBOM

Ace management consultant, Professor Vincent Chinedum Aniegbogu has declared that specialized training in leadership and management to enhance skills and boost the human capital capacity of Akwa Ibom State citizens was critical to the success and sustainability of the legacy of Udom Emmanuel administration’s industrialization of the state.

Professor Aniegbogu made this declaration in an interview, shortly after wrapping up a two day training for senior personnel in agricultural investments in line with the continuous human capital development and skills upgrade policy of the Akwa Ibom State governor, held at Signature, Uyo this week and attended by staff of Directorate of Agricultural Investments, Technical Committee on Agriculture and Food Sufficiency and some private sector managers.

Continuous training in ever changing business environment, according to Professor Aniegbolgu, would help the State Government identify core personnel for critical sectors of the economy. His words: “Every development starts with a vision and the vision charts the roadmap. Once you catch the vision, then you define core values, the attributes and characteristics of the people that will manifest them; then the education system that will develop the vision.”

Development, he noted, comes in stages and that the Akwa Ibom State governor has already “cast a fantastic vision of an industrialized state and has started a few model projects to show that it is possible.” The governor, he observed, has discovered the imperative of training and has set up machineries to achieve the same. “The governor has realized that there is a need to build capacity to sustain it, and he has started a 20-year-old education road map” chaired a distinguished professor. According to him, the group putting together the education roadmap to help sustain the industrialization vision turn in reports next month to the governor.

Additionally, Prof Aniegbogu who has lately completed the first phase of training of senior civil servants in Akwa Ibom State, commended the governor for including attitudinal shift in the training programme, noting that “major attitudinal shift among civil servants” from nominal civil service mentality to an entrepreneurial,” was critical to the success of the industrialization goal.

In his remarks, the Executive Director, Agricultural Investments, Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation, Pastor Umo Eno, admonished participants to leverage the opportunity of the programme to strengthen delivery capacity to ensure the directorate achieves her mandate and also makes immense contributions to the overall accomplishment of the Completion Agenda of Udom Emmanuel administration.

Models such as the farmer, hunter leadership paradigms, mirroring economic and political implications were subjected to critical analysis as the affect personnel work approaches and organizational goals. Participants were coached on the moulds and effects management concepts in relationship to personal and group effectiveness. Others included leadership development skills, growing a strong value system and understanding of human personality traits.

The training which essentially focused on how personnel can have full grasp of innovative human management ethos and adapt to the comparative leadership and management paradigms in the present world,  also featured Mrs. Peggy Aniegbogu, training administrator, JC Quality Management Limited and a member of Technical Committee on Agriculture and Food Sufficiency, Mr. Gabriel Nkannang as facilitators.

Mr. Nkannang who has extensive private sector exposure drilled participants on business success paradigms. He encouraged business managers to identify with organizational objectives and buy fully into the founding philosophy of the organization.

He stressed that unless why most enterprises fail to achieve their goals was because the operators could not forge ahead with “one mind, one vision and one goal.” Underscoring why personnel should perform optimally, he said the discovery and leveraging of a niche was pivotal.

A niche, he stated, would enable business managers provide services with a difference, irrespective of the competitive environment. “A niche,” he added, “gives you an edge and visibility in the market. Learn to carve a niche for yourself.” He also admonished managers not to relent in developing more business channels for expansion and sustainability.

The head of department, Agricultural Investments Directorate, Mr. Nelson Ofonmbuk, thanked the directorate for the training, noting that it has helped participants discover their strengths and weak areas. He expressed hope that the processes participants were exposed to would enhance their capacities to improve on weak areas for enhanced performance.