By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Director General National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu has charged the Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) to develop tailored, sector-specific training packages for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to meet the needs of establishments whose mandates have unique focus.
Proffering suggestions on how this could be achieved, the Director General said PSIN could first train limited essential manpower within such organizations who would serve as adhoc instructors to the institute when organizing training programmes for those MDAs. He added that this would enhance the patronage of PSIN by government agencies.
General Nafiu gave an example of the NYSC which had unique requirements that the generalized training of the institute would not adequately address, a situation which would no doubt hinder the patronage of PSIN by the Scheme.
He made this suggestion while playing host to the Administrator/Chief Executive Officer of the institute, Barrister Imeh Okon and her team. General Nafiu noted that PSIN is key to developing viable, competent professional manpower for Nigeria. He added that development in any society is unattainable without a vibrant public service which he said could only be achieved through consistent training and retraining of personnel.
The NYSC Chief Executive reiterated his administration’s commitment to training and capacity building of the Scheme’s staff for greater efficiency in the discharge of their duties. He pledged the Scheme’s support for the institute and welcomed the idea of collaboration, promising to look into areas proffered by the PSIN administrator.
Among the reasons for her visit, Barrister Okon said, was to canvass for patronage from NYSC for training programmes which she believed would improve the productivity of the workforce.
The Administrator of PSIN said the mandate of the institute Is to build the capacity of Nigeria’s public service for greater efficiency through training, research and innovative drives. Furthermore, she said her visit was aimed at, “fostering collaboration, strengthening institutional relationship and exploring mutually beneficial opportunities between her institute and NYSC.”
She further intimated that the institute offered capacity building training in areas such as; leadership, digital literacy, entrepreneurship and customized programmes from which NYSC staff and Corps Members could benefit.
The NYSC helmsman felicitated with Barrister Okon on her appointment, noting that NYSC is one of her first point of call in her interface with stakeholders. He wished her an impactful tenure in office.
