By Adedapo Adesanya
Stanbic IBTC Holding Plc has collaborated with the Lagos State Government to spur its civil servants to be mentally active during the current COVID-19 lockdown which entered its fifth week on Monday.
Through a webinar themed Evolution Series: A New Generation of Public Service, the bank charged civil servants in the state to expand their horizons while they continue to observe the federal government’s stay-at-home directive.
Speaking on how they can be active during what has become the new normal, Mrs Olufunke Amobi, Country Head, Human Capital, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc noted that new trends are shaping the world of a constantly evolving workforce globally.
Mrs Amobi noted that new behaviour, new technologies, the millennial workforce, mobility, and globalisation are slowly replacing existing systems in the labour world.
She then charged workers to embrace these new realities to be more efficient and competitive in doing their work.
In her presentation titled Current Trends in the World of Work and Workplace, she disclosed that there are three products that define the quality of every type of work, which are: The Work, the Worker and the Workplace.
Mrs Amobi took the opportunity to laud the Lagos State Government for its commitment in latching unto globally best practices in the civil service.
She said, “The introduction of this kind of programme and policy into the Public Service affirms our readiness to align with current trends in the world.”
She further encouraged civil servants and other employees to embrace the digitalisation of work and the workplace, as those who do so will not only survive but thrive.
The bank’s Head of Human Capital also urged the Lagos State Government to invest more in new digital activity for its workforce.
She challenged participants not to rely solely on their employers to acquire knowledge, adding that they should exploit different opportunities for free online courses, to develop their digital literacy skills.
Speaking on the initiative, the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions in the state, Mrs Ajibola Ponnle, said the online training programme was designed to enhance capacity development of the workforce as well as sharpen their skills during the COVID-19 lockdown.
She revealed that online training is part of the government’s initiatives to continually improve the staff as they remain at home to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
