The Lagos state government said it trained no fewer than 60, 000 workers in the state to upscale their skills in the last one year.

The commissioner for establishment and training, Afolabi Ayantayo, said this at the ongoing ministerial press briefing in commemoration of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s first year of his second term in office.

The briefing was held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, on Friday.

The ministry has two agencies under its purview – the Public Service Staff Development Centre and the Lagos State Pension Commission.

Mr Ayantayo said, “This groundbreaking learning management system started in 2020.

“The growing demands and challenges facing the state public service made it possible to train over 60,000 officers in one year.”

He said that by prioritising human capital development, the state government demonstrated its commitment to building a skilled, knowledgeable, and high-performing workforce.

The commissioner said that such a workforce was capable of driving positive change and delivering effective service to the citizenry.

“Under the overarching human capacity development programme arising from the Training Needs Analysis, a comprehensive programme was initiated to accelerate the capacity building of officers in the State Public Service.

“It was also to address the evolving needs and challenges of governance,” he added.

The commissioner noted that in view of this, 3, 087 officers also got approval to further their studies to improve their competence.

“Gov. Sanwo-Olu is interested in his employees’ professional development, demonstrated in his approving further studies for 3,087 officers.

“The goal is to create a more skilled workforce prepared for leadership and advancement.

“The governor also magnanimously accepted certificates produced by 8,430 officers who furthered their studies without prior permission,” he said.

According to Mr Ayantayo, the ministry, in the year under review, developed the competency development framework.

He said that the framework outlined key skills and knowledge required for success across various positions and functions within the public service.

The commissioner said that the framework provided a structured approach to identifying competency gaps, designing targeted training programmes and assessing performance against established benchmarks.

“The framework served as a roadmap for talent management, succession planning and career development within the state’s public service.

“Under this programme, over 100 officers, drawn from 10 piloted ministries, departments and agencies were trained,” Mr Ayantayo said.

He said that the governor equally increased the monthly pension of retired civil servants who had served the state meritoriously.

“Following a federal directive, Lagos State implemented a pension review for pensioners under the defined benefit scheme in January 2024.

“This review involved applying various percentage increases based on individual pension amounts. About N109.9 billion was approved for this adjustment.

“Welfare packages were distributed to pensioners in the state in May and December 2023 in parts of the state such as Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry,” the commissioner said.

(NAN)