The federal government on Thursday said it is grooming the best and brightest brains in the Federal Civil Service to bridge skills gaps in the public service sector, through the Leadership Enhancement and Development Programme (LEAD-P).
Folasade Yemi-Esan, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation(HCSF), speaking at the 2024 Public Lecture, as part of the annual Civil Service Week, said the Service is grooming a new crop of leaders of high skills through the Leadership Enhancement and Development Programme(LEAD-P).
The LEAD-P is a program developed in the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021-2025(FCSSIP 2021–2025), to identify, mentor and train about 500 future civil service leaders by the end of 2025, as a top talent training course for Civil Servants in Grade Level 10-14.
The Office of the HoSF works in partnership with the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that has invested hugely in the training and re-training of the workforce to ensure efficient service delivery to the citizenry.
The Head of Service revealed that so far, over 200 officers have been trained and deployed to various Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) of government, using the strategy
It should be recalled that the Leadership Enhancement and Development Programme (LEAD-P) is
BusinessDay gathered that participants, who are mainly Civil Servants are required to undergo an 8-week internship in private sector organisations, to gain experience in efficient work processes, organisational values, ethics, innovation, and effective management styles.
Stressing the need for continuous education and capacity development of the workforce, Yemi- Esan, noted that capability development and talent hunt, are paramount in the Federal Civil Service.
Peter Okebukola, who was the guest lecturer, stressed the need for critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, innovation, collaboration and teamwork, digital literacy, flexibility and adaptability, and social and cross-cultural skills, in the workplace, if the civil servant must perform optimally
This year’s lecture which was, “Education Fit For the 21st Century: Preparing Nigerian Public Servants to Address Global Challenges While Fostering Employee Engagement, Retention, and Job Satisfaction,” focused on the salient sectoral issues of grooming motivating and retaining fit-for-purpose civil servants in an environment that has globally changed and become difficult.
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Okebukola also called for leadership and accountability, entrepreneurship, the use of technology, environmental literacy, resilience and stress management, among others.
The former Executive Secretary National Universities Commission, also called on the federal government to run programmes that will equip Nigerian civil servants with skills in digital literacy, teamwork, media literacy, curiosity and others needed for the 21st century.
“By 2050 if you don’t plan, you are going nowhere in terms of delivering better on your mandate. This lecture is about painting the scenarios of the future of Nigeria by 2050. Where is the civil service going to be? Where is education going to be? More importantly, how will we educate our civil servants who are the engines of development in a way that they would be well-treated and we put values to attain that beautiful world as it should be in 2050. What will be the skills that are needed? And how will we, through education, give these skills to our civil servants and others to be able to prepare for that world?” he said.
Yayale Ahmed, former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, in his goodwill message, noted that 21st-century education must address a shift from the conventional competencies and approach to both techniques and delivery to catch up with global best practices.
Ahmed represented by Akin Arikawe, added “ This is simply a wakeup call to catch up with modern trends and ways of doing things in the Civil Service.
“To sustain and consolidate the core values of accountability, meritocracy, professionalism, loyalty and efficiency in the Civil Service, our education must be tailored towards catching up on level playing grounds with modern technology,” he said
