Mrs. Anwana said she anticipates a successful and productive relationship with the university. "The School of Continuing Education training programs offer exactly the kind of skills I want our administrators to develop." As Head of Service, Mrs. Anwana oversees civil service level staff management and management policies. This includes human resources development and training.
"We are very impressed with the qualities and skills of public employees in the United States," Mrs. Anwana said. "I want this program to train our mid-career people so they can apply what they learn and can help to create a more efficient and effective level of public administration for us."
The training will meet the specific needs of Akwa Ibom administrators. According to Shirley Bufford, Governmental Affairs Program Manager: "We will customize training programs in human resource management, decision making strategy, financial management, leadership development and others areas." Bufford said each of the two the pilot programs will be a series of seven workshops presented to a group of 10 government workers from Akwa Ibom.
Based on the success of the pilot program, a long-term agreement could be developed. Mrs. Anwana indicated that there are approximately 2,000 to 3,000 state employees who could be eligible for this training.
Professor Mordecai Lee, also of the Governmental Affairs Department, said he is eager for the program to get started. "This is a really exciting opportunity for us," he said. "It's thrilling to think that our training programs here will go to help improve the quality of public administration in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria."
Associate Professor Ndon explains his work on behalf of this proposed program. "I have enjoyed the benefits of living and working in the U.S. for the past 22 years," he said. "Now I want to start sending some of those benefits back home."
Ndon described the training program as a process of planting seeds. "Nigeria and its states are working toward a governmental structure that mirrors the U.S. system," he explained. "Sending trained administrators back home is like planting seeds. They will start to apply new skills and knowledge and they will teach others. The benefits spread and grow as government and civic administration continues to gain strength and efficiency."
The training begins in August with a seven-day series of one-day workshops. The series repeats in October and after that the program will be evaluated and, if needed, fine tuned before more series are scheduled.
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