The State Enterprises Commission has charged State-Owned Enterprises (SOE’s) to invest in the training and professional development of their staff due to its importance in ensuring efficiency and productivity.

Mr. Steven Asamoah Boateng, Executive Director of the Commission, who made the observation, urged the state-owned enterprises to effectively budget for training and allocate substantial resources for the professional development of staff.

He bemoaned the low attention paid to capacity building for staff of the SOEs and the public sector in general, blaming it for the poor productivity and inefficiency that continue to bedevil many public institutions.

In that regard, he welcomed the introduction of the Certified Public Manager (CPM) training programme in Ghana which aims at enhancing the professional skills of civil and public servants through a paradigm shift that enable public servants to act as agents of efficiency, productivity, profitability, quality service delivery.

He made the observation when the Vice President of the University of Virgin Islands (UVI) in the USA, Dr. Haldane Davies, and the Chief Executive Officer of Gamey & Gamey Group, Mr. Austin Gamey called on him at his office in Accra on Monday.

Dr. Davies is in Ghana to enhance the collaboration between the university and Gamey & Gamey Group towards to rolling out of the CPM in Ghana for the benefit of public institutions and state-owned enterprises.

According to Mr. Asamoah-Boateng, there is a need for state-owned enterprises to develop a culture of productivity and profitability, adding that that can be effectively achieved through equipping personnel with the requisite performance skills and tools.

He said although the government continues to make efforts to improve the capacity of public sector workers, there is still laxity among workers, especially in the state-owned enterprises, resulting in low productivity.

He lauded the objective of the CPM, which he believes would be highly beneficial in ensuring efficiency and high performance among public sector managers.

“It is useful to improve our human capacity through training,” he said.

In addition, he commended Gamey and Gamey Group for drawing the acclaimed CPM programme to Ghana through its partnership with UVI and recommended further collaboration with other educational and training institutions such as GIMPA to enable more public servants to benefit.

Dr. Davies, explaining the programme, noted that the CPM course equips public sector workers to function more effectively and innovatively in addressing institutional challenges in a business conscious manner.

He noted that countries and US States that have adopted the programme are deriving benefits from the Certified Public Managers who are providing real solutions to challenges in their respective fields.

“CPM Designates are trained to develop a dynamic mindset about public service,” he said, adding that they operate as agents of change and solution through creative leadership and innovation.

Mr. Gamey, for his part, assured the Commission of the necessary support to provide critical professional training for managers of the state enterprises to achieve high efficiency in their operations.

Source: Edmund Mingle/ adrdaily.com