Harness wealth of experience gained in Job Creation projects for greater responsibilities, Eboh tells staff

Staff of the Delta State Job and Wealth Creation Bureau have been charged to tap into the wealth of experience gained in the bureau for further responsibilities in the public and private sector.

The Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer, Prof Eric Eboh, gave the charge at the second day of the capacity building workshop on institution development for political aides to the Governor and senior management staff of the bureau.

Hear him, “The job creation project is a living case study of project management which was conceptualized in June, 2015. I was appointed as the Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer. I was asked to engage 1,300 youths within three months, no staff, no instrument. This bureau began with ground zero to project conception, planning to where we are now. I was able to achieve this based on my 15 years of experience in institution development and project management” 

He pointed out that just like the bureau, the Delta State Agro-Industrial Park is another project that is on course which was conceptualized since 2015, admonishing the participants to put into good use experience and knowledge acquired in the bureau.

The Resource Person, Dr Ben Arikpo, in his lecture, “Project Management Culture” tasked the participants to see themselves as a new crop of public officers who would influence the service positively, urging them to willingly render service without cutting corners.

He enjoined them to uphold the legacy of professionalism and personal responsibility laid by the bureau boss to ensure that the job and wealth creation project is sustained after his tenure in office.

Responding on the lessons gained from the training, a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Job Creation, Prince Charles Abutoh, said the capacity building workshop has challenged him to improve on his assignment in job and wealth creation bureau.  

He asserted that the workshop has helped to broaden his knowledge to deeply reflect on how to be more efficient and to do things better in order to achieve better results.

“It is a good thing that the Chief Job and Wealth Creation Officer thought of the idea of bringing up this capacity building workshop. It shows he is a man who loves to invest on human resources development. No knowledge is lost because what I have learnt so far are what I will be applying in my business and my day to day activity. I consider the workshop very useful. Job creation programme is a concept that involves a cycle; it is more or less a project management process. Everything we learnt today is about what we are doing here,” he enthused.

Also speaking the STEP Programme Coordinator, Mr Onyeisi Nkenchor, explained that part of the problems in civil service is lack of adequate training particularly for officers, stressing that university graduates usually lack knowledge to function well in their duties or positions after employment.

He emphasized that every officer from level 8 and above and every political appointee should be exposed to capacity building workshop on strategic planning to help them understand and interpret the policies and programmes of the State Government more effectively.

According to him, “They have to understand their role and position in that particular regard. So many people carry out projects without knowing what project cycle is all about. To me, this training is very important. For us in job creation bureau, we all should know our roles, what we are supposed to do, how we are supposed to do it and why we are supposed to do it.”  

 

By Promise Ogana & Gertrude Onyekachukwu-Uteh.