Experts have expressed worry over the low capacity level in the country stating that this may pose a serious challenge to the country if not tackled.
They remain doubtful whether businesses in Nigeria have the ability to respond to this potential economic growth as it relates to the human resources required to meet the growing demand from domestic and foreign owned companies for educated leaders?
Alim Abubakre, founding executive director of These Young Minds – an organisation that provides management training for African executives thinks that many Nigerian companies do not fully understand the importance of human capital.
“Unfortunately the talent pool for skilled local workers with knowledge of good management practice and a grasp of international business markets is relatively small in Nigeria. The ration of well-grounded management professionals in Nigeria to the total population is minuscule.”
“Many companies do not fully understand the importance of human capital in achieving a successful organisation. Often, little attention is paid to hiring the right people to do the job and favouritism among friends and family in the recruitment process remains common. Another problem is the level of attention given to the development of human capital within the organisation. A lot of top management appears to have a short-term view of human resource management thus giving this key resource a low priority.”
To be more competitive and sustainable, Nigerian organisations need to develop a knowledge-driven economy, pay more attention to human resource management (including employee reward systems and talent development) and harness new ideas, innovation and technology. They can do this by carrying out more research, managing the external environment and developing learning organisation via capacity development. In order to address the need to enhance the leadership capacity of African senior executives, These Young Minds and Aston Business School in the UK have partnered to offer a four-day executive education programme on Strategy for Sustained Competitive Advantage.
The programme is unique in that it is specially customised for African senior executives from the public and private sector, ensuring it reflects contextual nuances and adds immense measurable value for participants and their organisations.
Executive education programmes such as these are ideal for helping people gain international experience and applying it to the local context, ultimately making them more attractive to both domestic and foreign employers.
Abubakre says “The programme, Strategy for Sustained Competitive Advantage combines tuition in management that reflects the contextual nuances of a developing country with a platform for senior executives to shape their organisational vision while challenging their assumptions.
Through this programme senior executives would broaden their horizons, enhance their ability to provide strategic leadership, improve their capability to anticipate and manage the future and present risks involved and maximise their potential to harness opportunities for their organisation in a sustainable way.” Andrew Bass, a member of the Aston Business School Faculty for the programme and a seasoned international senior executive consultant said “the programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, case studies, syndicate group work, and group presentations. Lectures expose participants to the pivotal theories and frameworks necessary for understanding and analysing strategy for competitive advantage.
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