LASG LAUNCHES LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO IMPROVE PROFESSIONALISM IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

Gbenga Adewale

In the quest to ensure professionalism in the public service and improve public service delivery in the state, the Lagos state government will continue to place premium on human capital development.

The state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu who stated this at the official launching of the Learning Management System (LMS) at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja said that with over 42,000 workforce, the need for continuing training and retraining in the service is necessary.

According to him, “the launch of the Learning Management System is a crystallization of the reform process, which our administration initiated to improve service delivery in public administration and governance. It is not by chance that the Lagos State Public Service is globally acclaimed as a pacesetter among other public administration and governance services in Nigeria and Africa.”

Sanwo-Olu stressed that his administration places a premium on the competence of the Public Service to deliver government policies, strategies and programmes for the benefit of the people. “It is, therefore, necessary that we equip our public service personnel with the requisite skills and learning tools needed to thrive in a 21st century economy and a knowledge-based environment.”

The Governor said that his administration will continue to provide opportunities for all public servants to access career enhancement courses, trainings and programmes. “As we intensify efforts to make Lagos State a 21st century economy, our people will be equipped with what it takes to contribute their quota to global development and we will ensure that our developmental activities are driven by cutting edge knowledge, innovation and technology.

“I appreciate the Lagos State Public Service personnel for embracing the Learning Management System while it was being test-run. The incorporation of the Learning Management System into the Human Capacity Development Model in Lagos State will further serve to enhance the capacity of public servants to deliver quality and timely service to the members of the public.”

He said that “it is encouraging to know that 42,009 public servants from the various Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Parastatals have been onboarded on the platform, which has a variety of learning contents with over 4000 free, self-enrolment courses and 8000 courses from the LinkedIn Learning Library.

“I encourage other personnel in the public service to emulate their colleagues by registering to commence learning activities on the Learning Management System Portal. This is an opportunity for you all to benefit from the global standard training that is on offer for your personal and professional development.”

Also in his goodwill message at the event, the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, said he would not make a mistake to say the launch of LMS, undoubtedly marked one of the happiest days in his life, which in no distance time would enhance the learning process of all public servants irrespective of their cadres and distance.

He affirmed that Lagos State Civil service has been always adjudged to always be in the front, whether in governamce or innovation.

“With the LMS launch today, my joy knows no bound and exceedingly elated, while I do thank Mr Governor for his accent and reasoning to what would make Lagos be more enviable to the rest of the World”, Muri-Okunola said.

In her speech, Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Ajibola Ponnle said the dream of the LMS in Lagos State Public Service was handed to her shortly after she took office by the Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, who had started discussions with the consultants.

She said implementing a learning management systems for the government was not just to have a global trend, but a radical change that was at the root of repairing public service delivery failures in the State.

Ponnle added that the government used the COVID-19 lockdown as an opportunity to fast track our online training strategy with its first ever webinar series, tagged the ‘Resilience series’ where government called on experts from around the country in diverse fields to share knowledge with its staff.

“We started with a small class of 100 and quickly grew to a class size of 1500 due to the high demand and appetite for public servant to learn. I believe that we set the pace for other States and indeed the Federation with this initiative.

“The LMS we are launching today is the first of its kind in the Nigerian Public Service. One of the major challenges the administration faced was a very low penetration of training nominations. In the 4 years prior to the present administration, Lagos State trained an average of 3000 staff at the office of Establishments and Training.

“With the LMS, which is an online software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of educational courses and training programs, we have successfully onboarded 42,446 on to the platform, thanks to our online learning partner, Envivo,” she said.

Ponnle stated that an LMS without content is like having a library without books, saying not only did the Lagos State workforce have access to over 1,000 basic courses provided by Envivo iClass suite, the governor also magnanimously approved partnership with one of the best content libraries in the world, LinkedIn Learning.

She said this gave the workforce access to over 8,000 global best practice courses, certificate programs in various disciplines curated by the best minds and experts in their various fields.

Ponnle said she was confident that in spite of these turbulent times around the world, Lagos State stayed on top, playing a vital role even in its bureaucratic process and ensuring its workers were well equipped to perform their roles and deliver service to the citizens.

“As you are aware, since the year began, level 1-12 officers have worked from home, what this LMS provides, is an opportunity for officers to use this time to sharpen their skills and broaden their knowledge in view of their return to working full time,” she said.

The Commissioner for the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Fahm Hakeem Popoola congratulated the Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu and the team of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Establishments, Training & Pension for the birth of the LMS platform for the public servants that it worth a thing to rejoice about at this Administration.

The Chairman House Committee on Establishment, Hon. Yinka Ogundimu described the programme as a very laudable one that needed to be nurtured so well and attract good machineries for maintainance which no one would ever dare to cancel in the future.

Others honored with Awards fot good scores in an LMS courses were Mr Segun Olaogun of the Ministry of the Environment,Rilwan Adeniyi of LASEMA and Omowunmi Muritala of LASTMA who came in first place.