CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Human Resources have played a significant role in the economic development in most developed countries such as United States of America, Britain and Japan among others. It can, therefore be concluded that a developing country like Nigeria, with its rich natural resources and the necessary financial support can also experience such economic success if the appropriate attention is given to the development and training of her human resource. It is thus seen that in Nigeria the government is taking adequate steps to ensure that people acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. The provision of secondary and technical schools, vocational training institutes and colleges, professional and tertiary institutions, as well as the educational reforms, are all geared towards the acquisition of skills and knowledge to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in our workplaces. With these efforts by the government, it has become necessary for organizations to provide long and systematic training and development programs for its employees. This is because every aspect and activity of an organization involves people. For instance, a manager in an organization will not be successful until he has subordinates beneath him who are well equipped with skills, talent and knowledge. To manage an organization both large and small requires staffing them with competent personnel.
The formal educational system does not adequately teach specific job skills for a position in a particular organization. Few employees have the requisite skills, knowledge, abilities and competencies (SKAC) needed to work. As a result, many require extensive training to acquire the necessary SKAC to be able to make substantive contribution towards the organization’s growth, (Barron and Hagerty 2001). If employees are to experience flexibility and effectiveness on the job, they need to acquire and develop knowledge and skills, and if they are to believe that they are valued by the organization they work for, then they need to see visible signs of management’s commitment to their training and career needs. Training and development are the processes of investing in people so that they are equipped to perform. These processes are part of an overall human resource management approach that hopefully will result in people being motivated to perform. It goes without saying therefore that the training and development of employees is an issue that has to be faced by every organization.
However, the amount, quality and quantity of training carried out vary enormously from organization to organization. According to Cole (2002:329), factors influencing the quantity and quality of training and development activities include; the degree of change in the external environment, the degree of internal change, the availability of suitable skills within the existing workforce and the extent to which management see training as a motivating factor in work. Many organizations meet their needs for training in an ad hoc and haphazard way. Training in these organizations is more or less unplanned and unsystematic. Other organizations however set about identifying their training needs, then design and implement training activities in a rational manner, and finally assess results of training. It is worth noting that Nigeria has a huge public sector, employing the highest number of human resources with varied skills. The study intends to investigate the impact of Training and Development in Taraba state university.
1.2Â Â Â Â Â Â STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The Training, Development, Maintenance and utilization of actual potential number of labour process is instrumental to the success of any Organization and proper and adequate planning is a major tool to the organization’s effectiveness.
The quality of employees and their development through training and education are major factors in determining long-term profitability of any business venture. Human Resource professionals also believe that an organization is only as good as its employees, and this understanding suggests that training and development should be more specifically responsive to employees‟ training needs. Training and development also increase employees’ confidence, enhance work place moral and develop competitive edge.
Employees some time go for training and development for personal reasons which include enriching themselves, preparing themselves for other position in other organization, power play/politics, because he or she know the person in charge of training and not necessary because there is an identified skill cap which needed to filled through training.
Taraba State University benefited tremendously in training and development, this is because training and development enhance the employees existing skills and knowledge as well as assisting the organization in achieving the design goals and objective. Training and development also relates change result in improving job performance.
1.3 Â Â Â Â Â OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general objective of this study is to examine the impact of training and development on productivity in Taraba State University.
The main objectives of this research are:
- To ascertain training and development policy in practice at Taraba state university.
- To outline the training and development practices and processes in Taraba State University
- Examine the effectiveness of training and development on the performance of staff in Taraba State University
1.4Â Â Â Â Â Â RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
Accordingly, the key research questions investigated are:
- What are the training and development policy in practice inTaraba state university?
- What are the training and development practice and process in TarabaState University?
- What is the effectiveness of training and development on the performance of staff in Taraba state university
1.4.1Â Â RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
The following hypothesis shall be tested to verify its validity:
H1:Â Â Â Â Â There exist training and development policy in practice in Taraba state university.
H2:Â Â Â Â Â There exist training and development practices and process in Taraba State University
H3:Â Â Â Â Â There exist effectiveness of Training and development on the performance of staff in Taraba State University
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1.5Â Â Â Â Â Â SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Training and development is about managing and empowering people, the vital assets of any business or firm. Understanding human resources practices and particularly training and development enable managers to help employees perform better in the work and keep them motivated.
It is expected that the study will inform the Management of Taraba state university that to increase productivity, there is the need to have and retain well trained and motivated employees. It is also to help develop and maintain a quality work life, which will provide an opportunity for employees’ job satisfaction and self actualization. Finally, it is to aid management of Taraba state university to introduce modern schemes for training and development, to be able to meet the challenges of change in the future.
1.6 Â Â Â Â Â SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is limited as it looks at the role and impact that training and development have played in the last eleven years at Taraba state university between 2008-2019. Taraba state university holds a large population of employees. Accordingly the analysis and conclusions will be based on this time period
1.7 Â Â Â Â Â ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
The study is organized into five chapters.
Chapter one introduces the study by giving the background information on the research problem, objectives, hypothesis and scope of the study.
Chapter two deals with the review of relevant literature on the research problems and concepts with specific reference to how it applies to Taraba state university.
Chapter three discusses the research methodology adopted for the study and relevant justifications. It outlines the methodology for carrying out the secondary and primary data collections and how results were analyzed.
Chapter four presented the findings on the practices and impact of training and development in Taraba state university. It will also lay out the researcher’s analysis on the organization’s responses to the impact and role of such training on its employees in terms of performance and productivity.
Chapter five presents the conclusions drawn from the research findings and recommendations to enhance organizational effectiveness through training, and to ensure a stable and committed human resource.
