13th March, 2018
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode on Tuesday said any government that denied workers their welfare packages is planning to fail and risked ruining their stewardship and trust of the citizens.
Ambode, who spoke at a two-day training in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria said it was the duty of governments to ensure that the welfare of workers were properly taken care of in order to win their confidence.
The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Benson Oke said “governments who deny the welfare of workers do so at the risk of ruining their stewardship and the trust of the citizens in governance. Furthermore, employers who deny this run the undeniable risk of ruining their enterprise and the trust and devotion of their employees.
“Of the many wise employers living by this noble ideal, the Lagos State Government is one of the most notable, if not the foremost. Indeed, the passionate and unrivalled dedication of the Lagos State Government to the welfare of its workforce (both during and after service) cannot be denied by any objective commentator.”
However, the governor said the objective of the training was to inculcate and sharpen the vital interpersonal human relations skills and values that officers of the Lagos State Civil Service required to properly and fully serve the government and the people of the state.
He stressed the need for government officers to possess soft skills, which he said included attributes such as sterling personal values, etiquette, getting along with others, listening and engaging in small talk, among others.
According to Ambode, “these skills are related to the concept of ‘Employability’. ‘Employability’ is the greatest attribute any candidate for employment can aspire to meet. It refers to the ability to transfer the knowledge embodied in the hard skills into application.
“In order to do this, hard skills must be supplemented by soft skills because, ‘soft skills’ are those personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people to make relationships and ventures harmonious and productive.”
The governor stated that for a long time, candidates had been excluded from employment or dismissed from their jobs because of their non-possession of soft skills deemed relevant to the job or employment, adding that this had always been the outcome of the non-possession of soft skills because it was considered impossible to learn soft skills.
“Now, the good news is that, like any skill, soft skills can be learned. And there is better news. The better news is that boosting your soft skills not only gives you a leg up on a new job or a promotion, but these skills also have obvious applications in all areas of a person’s life, both professional and personal and ultimately contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of organisations such as the Lagos State Civil Service. Furthermore, as an officer of the Lagos State Civil Service, you are also expected to possess soft skills that make you adaptable to different situations,” he said.