Professor Olaopa has said that certification of HR alone in public service will be meaningless without the necessary proficiencies and skills in human resources management to deliver. He said the knowledge of HR and the ability to apply it meaningfully with certification is the most important. According to him, public sector personnel are eager to get certified, but what exactly do they know about HR in public service.
“Civil servants will be very happy to get certified but certification without content is meaningless but what do you know.”
Olaopa stated this in his office when he received the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) delegation led by its President and Chairman of the Governing Council; Mallam Ahmed Ladan Gobir on a courtesy call. Hon. Chairman said he was happy to receive the new council after the visit of the former council head to the Commission in January this year.
He said he has been pushing for the professionalization of HR since 1995 when he was the desk officer for Ayida reform, adding that he was abreast of the conversation and the underpinning on strategic human resources management in public service.
Olaopa emphasized that it was sad we were still talking about certification in public sector; saying that public Service needs a rethinking. He said reforms in the Civil Service have not worked because the foundation is faulty.
According to him, a lot of house cleaning needs to be carried out as well as bringing back competency-based human resources practice; not only merit in human resources recruitment but a diagnostic assessment of the Commission touching all structural issues including career progression and merit in every leg of human resources will enhance performance in public service.
While acknowledging the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the Commission, Olaopa stated that funding and resources have been a challenge in fast-tracking the restructuring of the FCSC. He told CIPM delegation that the Commission will equally count on their development support as he is currently engaging with various development organizations towards the development of Commission.
Olaopa enjoined CIPM to deepen collaboration with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to harness HR ideal-typical construct in the public sector. He revealed that HR in the public sector is not the same as HR in the private sector. As he called on CIPM to have a HR curriculum that is public service complaints, Chairman said clerical, analogue and transactional HR currently present in the public service needs to be reviewed.
While soliciting the collaboration of CIPM in profiling core administrative officers in public service through training, he opined that transformation in the public sector will come through capacity development.
Speaking earlier, President and Chairman of the Governing Council; Mallam Ahmed Ladan Gobir thanked the FCSC Chairman for receiving them despite his busy schedule. He said he was not part of his predecessor’s delegations who came to visit the Chairman in January. He said the present visit was a follow-up on that.
According to him, he acknowledged the important roles FCSC is playing in the development of public service; adding that he was aware of what FCSC represents and does for civil servants.
Gobir said he came with the leadership of the council to appreciate Olaopa for attending his investitures as the 21st President and Chairman of the Governing Council of CIPM on the 31st of July 2024 in Lagos. He said his coming was to also explore strategic partnership with the Commission to see that workforce in the public service is well equipped with the necessary trainings and tools to thrive a world characterized by volatility and change. He, therefore, sought the Commission’s partnership in the registration of officers into CIPM.
Flanked by other members of the Council, the Chairman explained that CIPM being a 56-year-old institute, believed that collaboration is key to achieve its stated objectives. He used the visit to invite FCSC Chairman and to inform him about the organization’s 56th International Conference and Exhibition between from 13th to 17th October, 2024 at Chida Event Centre, Abuja.
According to him, the event theme: “Managing People and Businesses for Resilience” will attract the largest gathering of HR practitioners in Africa.
He disclosed that this year’s Conference is expected to have over 2000 physical delegates and more than one thousand virtual delegates across the continent and around the globe.
Signed
Taiwo Hassan
Head (Press & Public Relations)
