Transportation is one of the key indices for measuring the development of a nation. Nigeria’s rural transport infrastructure has been identified as a crucial component for the economic development of the country because it links the rural societies to the urban areas. A good transportation network expands economic activities by improving access and facilitates movement of goods and services such as agricultural commodities in all the nooks and crannies within the nation. In order to maximize the efficiency of transportation there is need for continuous training and retraining of the human resource planning within the sector for it to be effectively equipped with the latest skills, technique and modern ways of carrying out its operations.
Human resource planning is a basic resource and an indispensable means of converting other resources to mankind’s use and benefits. It is a process of increasing the knowledge, skills and ability of the people of any society. It is the most fundamental means of enabling a society to acquire the capacities to bring about its desired future state of affairs.
In addition, a nation’s long term survival and development depends ultimately upon the quality and creative energy of the people. In line with Nigeria’s national focus and strategies in conformity with its objectives, we must ensure our human resource planning is geared towards higher quality to maximize efficiency in our nation’s transportation sector.
The transportation sector plays a fundamental and strategic role in the growth of any society globally and its major role is in the area of social and economic development of the nation, whether developed, developing or underdeveloped.
Data on the contribution of transportation to the economy shows the importance. And why the movement of goods, persons and services across our nation must be improved through the use of modern technology and people with the right knowledge and expertise to achieve greater efficiency. The strategic importance of the transportation sector cannot be over emphasised as all nations recognise the pivotal role which transportation plays and will continue to play in fostering socio-economic growth and development in societies.
The increase in the movement of people, goods and services is a direct manifestation of the various activities which take place in any society and all depend on transportation. In Nigeria, the challenge of human resource planning has remained prevalent because of lack of attention, awareness and maybe because of the growing cost in the training and development of personnel among organisations. The management of both public and private establishments need to make adequate provision for training and development programmes for the ultimate performance of its work force which is very strategic for its operational efficiency.
For the Nigerian society to achieve improvement of transportation services, it is also very important that government regulators set up viable machinery to train and develop its human resources. Achieving this will help in the creation of an enabling condition that can harness human resources for optimal productivity. Human resource planning is very vital and this is why government authorities in transportation must dedicate more resources and time to improve it.
The cause of the continuous degeneration and setback in the transport sector is the poor human resource development. Programmes and human resources competency levels need urgent upgrades to meet up with global standards. Investments in transportation infrastructure, operations and management will be subsequently properly utilised and ensure a positive impact on the growth and development of the sector, as well as a direct impact on the economy. Inefficient human resource planning development programmes and applications are also responsible for the slow growth in our transport sector.
Human Resource Planning programmes are a continuous and ongoing exercise that build, streamline and position the sector for the different changes that can occur within the system. It also helps organisations in the recruitment of new employees, optimizing its human resources and planning for workers’ retirement and compensation.
It has been discovered that most organisations with high productivity levels had previously made human resource planning development an integral part of their business culture.
There is very important need to recognise the significant role of human resource planning as a continuous, ongoing process and exercise which will help the transport regulators to properly plan for change management within the system as well as enhancing performance.
Hence the call for the houses of assembly at the national and state levels to set up committees on transportation. These will brain organise storming session with different experts in the transportation sector to create a blueprint for improving the policies within the transport sector. The objectives would be efficiency and the smooth running of the transportation system in our nation. It will generate more opportunities and value to our economy.
Festus Okoye
