NSITF trains staff on ethics, moves to bridge manpower gap

Plans are underway by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to bridge manpower gaps to increase the service delivery capacity of the organisation. 

The Managing Director of NSITF, Adebayo Somefun, who disclosed this while speaking in Abuja at the induction ceremony for some of the staff, stressed the need for staff to understand and embrace the vision and mission of the organisation.  

Represented by the General Manager, Administration of NSITF, Olusegun Basorun, Somefun said he has given marching order to the Human Resources department to identify gaps and move quickly to bridge identified shortcomings. 

He said: “The human resources department has the mandate of the managing director to identify knowledge gaps wherever it exist and initiate actions to correct the gaps so that staff members would be equipped with the required competencies they need to carry out their individual functions.”

Underscoring the need for induction of new staff, Somefun submitted that coming from different backgrounds, organisational cultures and different work attitude, it is necessary to expose new staff to the NSITF culture of how things are done, what is done, how it is done and for what purpose and the expected result. 

“Not only do we tell them what we expect from them as new staffers, we ourselves also open our minds to learning new things from new staffers that are coming in. We at the NSITF appreciate the fact that knowledge does not reside solely in one place, therefore we are put ourselves in a position to learn new ideas that can contribute to the attainment of the mandates of NSITF. 

“The management also use this opportunity to let new staff know the dos and don’ts in a formal atmosphere and assure them that the management is ready to assist them realise their potentials but they must do all they have to do within the rules and regulations of the Fund,” he explained.

The NSITF boss hinted that with the 5,000 staff strength, 56 branches and 11 regional offices, NSITF is present in all the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, saying, “by the nature of our mandate, we must have presence all over the country. Our mandate is to ensure safe work environment and where occupational hazards happen; the victims are compensated, rehabilitated and treated in fair manner.”

The NSITF helmsman also highlighted that one of the cardinal mandates of the present management is the promotion of staff welfare, adding, “this goes beyond salaries, having a conducive work environment is very important in motivating employees to deliver on their tasks.

The present exco has executed the first phase of equipping our offices with facilities. There is a proposal in the 2018 budget to do even more.”