Govt bans overseas training for workers

FOLLOWING the recent circular from the Head of Service to all government ministries and agencies banning all forms of foreign training for workers, the Centre for Management Development (CMD) says it will soon begin inspection and accreditation of all management consultants and institutions in the country.

   This is to enable it put its house in order to take over the task of providing quality training and capacity building for Nigerian workers. The Director-General of CMD, Kabir Kabo Usman, told newsmen at the weekend that the centre, after the receipt of the circular, was ready to commence inspection and accreditation.

   He stressed that the circular has given it a bit more powers and task to battle the challenges of providing adequate and quality training for the nation’s manpower. 

   Usman, who disclosed that the CMD was able to accredit and issue operational licenses to 200 management consultants and 48 institutions in 2014, urged all consultants and institutions that have not identified with it to avail themselves of the opportunity, as it begins the training.

   He disclosed that the centre has been working in partnership with the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Nigerian Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPS), as well as the Nigerian Institute for Management (NIM). According to him, with the recent circular, the centre would help the country save over $16 million a year, as it currently spends over $158 million yearly on oversees training.

   “The centre, as the operational arm of the National Council for Management Development, has been going round seeing and inspecting management consultants in terms of their code of practice,” he said. “Last year, we had an accreditation of over 200 individual consultants and 48 management institutions in Nigeria. A total of 100 individuals and 50 institutions are right now awaiting approvals. 

   “We also conducted a lot of visits to many management institutions. The country has over 1369 management consultants that have been accredited by CMD over the years in the country. It is only the Centre for Management Development (CMD) that has the right to register and accredit all the management consultants and institutions in the country.”

   He added: “The new circular recently produced by the Office of Head of Service of the Federation, which says that there is now restriction on oversees training, gave us the opportunity to now focus on local content in manpower development and capacity building for all federal civil servants in Nigeria.