The Commissioner for Establishments and Training, Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo, has assured the workforce of the state government’s commitment to continually upscale and up skill the civil servants to meet the aspiration of the 21st century public service as part of the overall objectives of achieving the THEMES + plus Agenda.

Ayantayo, who gave this assurance at Alausa, said that government was prepared to continue to invest in capacity building of the state’s workforce declaring that government, in the coming months, would be deliberate in increasing the rate of learning and development interventions in the shortest possible time frame.

In a statement, yesterday, he acknowledged that human capital is at the centre of the state government strategy for development adding that building capacity is not only critical for realising individual potential for greater efficiency, but also central to achieving some of the goals of the THEMES + agenda.

Whilst expressing determination to bring innovations that would ensure every civil servant is equipped with relevant skillset and competencies to deliver on their assigned jobs, the commissioner affirmed that the state government would deploy existing technology and improve on the training schedules ranging from sector-specific hands-on and interactive training to industry exchange programmes that will make it possible for significant number of civil servants to benefit from the capacity building programmes of government.

Responding to questions on pension payment, the commissioner said the state government has been consistent in the payment of pensions to its retirees and being reputed to be the best pension administration-compliant state in the federation.

He promised that the state government would not deviate from this path except to assure the state pensioners of government’s commitment to improve on timely payment of pension and clear the backlog.

“Mr. Governor has shown greater commitment and determination to clear the backlog of pensions and it is anticipated that this would be cleared by the end of 2023 while those retiring from 2024 will collect their entitlement without waiting for a day,” Ayatanyo said.

The commissioner reiterated Governor BabajideSanwo-Olu’s commitment to the growth and development of the public service and particularly the wellbeing of the entire workforce,

“We will continue to deepen relationship between labour and the state government in order to ensure industrial peace and harmony in the state,” the commissioner said.