TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT AS A STRATEGIC TOOL FOR OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN THE NIGERIAN SEA PORTS: A POSTMORTEM STUDY

Abstract

Employees are regarded as the major assets of organisations. Their involvement in achieving the firm’s performance in the face of environmental challenges and technological disruption is crucial. Public establishments in Nigeria are unable to optimally utilize employee training and development strategies compared to that of their private sector counterpart thereby affecting their competitiveness.  This study relying on social learning theory (SLT), double loop theory, and dynamic capability theory examine the influence of training and development strategy on the operational performance of the Nigerian Ports Authority in Lagos State. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the random sampling method was employed to administer 248 copies of the questionnaire to the respondents out of which 237 usable responses were obtained representing a 95.6% response rate. Multiple regression results showed that off-the-job training makes the strongest contribution to the operational performance of employees in the Nigerian seaports, and this was followed by on-the-job training while training delivery style and training design did not show any significant effect but with a positive relationship. Results also show significant joint prediction of on-the-job training, off-the-job training, delivery style, and training design on the operational performance of seaport employees in Lagos Nigeria. Training and development strategy has a significant and positive effect on operational performance among seaport employees in Lagos port, Nigeria. It is recommended that public establishments should not just embark on employee training and development but design purposeful, impactful, and implement training to improve operational performance.