Impact of Recruitment on Nigerian Civil Service (a Case Study of Ebonyi State Civil Service Commission)
ABSTRACT
This research work is focused on the “Impact of Recruitment on the Nigerian Civil Service” with reference to Ebonyi state civil service as a case study. In carrying out this research both primary and secondary data were used. The primary data were collected from selected respondents using questionnaire and interview. While secondary data were collected from text books, internets, journals, magazines, published and unpublished works. Consequently, the finding were based that recruitment is a panacea to development which curtails the excesses of unemployment of graduates in our societies and various higher institutions. Based on the research I recommend that civil service of Nigeria should have a set of standard which can be used to measure performance and to enable them show the areas of policy in the organisation. Also, that employers should undertake periodic studies of employment policies to enable them enhances change to the taste and trend of the time. Thus, on the research findings the following conclusion can be drawn, which include that it has been accepted that lack of recruitment pose an obstacle to the growth and development of the country(Nigeria), that it has also reduce the standard living of the people. However, it was found that proper recruitment could bring about Ebonyi state civil service effectiveness.
CHAPTER ONE
1.00 INTRODUCTION
Recruitment plays a very important role in the development of any country, because it helps to improve the standard living of the society. The issues of recruitment has been a matter of a great concern in our country.
According to the public service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (2006) stated that “is the filling of vacancies by the appointment of person not already in the civil service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”. Recruitment is all about selecting the right person in an open vacancy of a required job position.
Thus, when there is no recruitment there will be high rate of unemployment. Unemployment has been a great challenge in our country, in recent years, however, Nigerian rising rate of unemployment has caused a great concern not only to the policy makers but the general public as well. Even the lay public was alarmed in 1988 when a national paper reported that the swelling ranks of unemployment had increased dramatically.
The situation has been so serious among the higher institutions graduates (Business Time 1988).
Ahmed, (1985), argued that unemployment has been so high and rising in recent years.
There is no doubt saying that recruitment is a panacea to development, which curtails the excesses of unemployment of graduates in our societies and various higher institutions. If ignored, it can cause serious set back in our country. Recruiting young graduates into our various civil services reduces crimes, prostitutions, free fraud, gambling, kidnapping, armed robbery etc. In other words, recruitment helps to reduce or curb all these vices mentioned above.
1.01 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The term “impact of recruitment” demands a good knowledge of how to recruit, select and place an employee in an organisation to achieve the best of goals for the Nigerian civil service as well as the employees. Unemployment remains a social problems which is associated with physical, psychological, economic and social problems which is associated with physical, psychological, economic and social consequences to the unemployed and their families. Joblessness has a devastating effect on the job seeker, their families and their dependents.
Recruitment started in 1914 by Lord Lugard who amalgamated the two protectorates of North and south, this could be said to be the starting point of the Nigerian civil service. Recruitment could be traced back during the colonial rule, when they used indirect rule to administered their colonized country (Nigeria). The colonial masters (British) recruited the native rulers (traditional rulers) who administered the people. Hence, being without job brings about loss of self respect, strained family/acquaintance relations, depression, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, prostitution, free fraud and even suicide.
Okonkwo, (2011), posits that recruitment “is the process of sourcing for and encouraging job seekers to apply for job openings in an organisation”.
Hellriegal and Slocum (1996), view it “as the process of searching, both inside and outside the organisation for people to fill vacant position” the effectiveness of an organisation is a function of high intelligence decision and policies in manpower planning needs continuous readjustment, because the goals of an organisation are unstable and its environment uncertain.
Ubulom (2003), observed that unfortunately graduates queue up in the labour markets for paid employment in the civil service, public corporations and private business enterprises.
Although, the issues of recruitment has a multi-dimensional effects on the people and society at large. This phenomenon is evidence in our country (Nigeria), it’s impacts varies due to the differences in industrial, economic and educational development. Recruitment is a vital elements commonly used in the process of employment. After recruitment has been done, the potential job holder may either be sent on training or not depending on the policy of the civil service.
It is worthwhile, mentioning that recruitment starts were unemployment stooped, this to say that recruitment eliminate unemployment. Thus, planners should always look ahead, anticipating retirements, changes in technology, possible relocation or reorganization.
1.02 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
The Impacts of Recruitment on the Nigeria Civil Service have been very great, but it is being ignored by many Nigerians civil service. In recruiting, a good and intelligent decision of the personnel manager should be considered in choosing the right person into the right position at the right time brings about an emergency of the civil service effectiveness. This is true because, there is no extent of advancement in technology that can discard completely manpower resources.
Manpower must contribute conceptually and physically in one way or the other in collaboration with machinery to achieve the directed objectives or an expected output. One of the main problem of recruitment on the Nigerian civil service is the recruitment, selection and placement of unqualified applicants.
For this reasons, one may ask;
- To what extent do civil service employ quality manpower to carryout relevant task?
- To what extents do they retain the best and most promising of those employed?
- To what extents do they provide programmes and facilities for personnel growth on the job?
These are some of the questions that bother the mind of the researcher, hence the purpose of this study is concerned. In other words, when there is absent of recruitment, it will result to unemployment. In other words, unemployment means a state of joblessness , in the view of Briggs (1973).
According to Gbosi, (1997), posits that unemployment “is a situation in which people who are willing and able to work at a prevailing rate are unable to find jobs”. One can say that recruitment exist when there is absent of unemployment. This is to say that unemployment is a hinderance to recruitment. Unemployment is not a new phenomenon in our society, in recent years, however, Nigeria’s rising rate of unemployment has caused great concern. The nation’s unemployment rate stood at 55 percent, by 2001, it jumped to an unprecedented high of 65 percent, and since 2002 till date, the situation has further worsened when compared to the 2000 and 2001 figures, despite of the various unemployment reduction programmes of the government. Unemployment brings about declining in a nations total output of goods and services, specifically, unemployment reduces the gross National Product (G.N.P) of a nation and of course contributes to the low living standard of the people.
Unemployment has caused more harm than good to the individuals concerned. The greatest impact of unemployment is the loss of income associated with working. For instance, if the head of a family is unemployed for a prolonged periods of time, this will cause financial hardship for the whole family, this has been great problem facing the society at large.
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1.03 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objective of this study is to exhume and bring to cognizance the different aspects of our work toward the Impact of Recruitment on the Nigeria’s civil service. Also to ascertain whether recruitment processes employed in the Nigerian civil service enhance their effectiveness. This will lead us to know exactly where we are coming from, as well as where we are going.
Therefore, the following objectives must be achieved:
- To identify the type of recruitment process used in the employment of staff in the civil service.
- To identify the recruitment procedures used in the employment of staff in the civil service.
- To identify the procedures used for the placement of employees in the civil service.
- To identify the appropriate recruitment policies to be adopted in the Nigerian civil service.
- To ascertain whether the right caliber of staff are employed in the Nigerian civil service.
1.04 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research question refers to the steps to be followed in undertaking a research. In order words, it is concerned with the procedures that a researcher follow in carrying out a research. As obvious from our definition of research, the research process is usually a systematic and thorough plan of action for a given research.
- What type of recruitment process should be used to achieve the employment of staff in the civil service?
- What type of selection procedure used during staff recruitment in Nigerian civil service?
- What type of procedures used during staff placement in the civil service.
- What type of recruitment policies to be adopted in the Nigerian civil service?
- To what extent do the right caliber of staff are employed in the Nigerian civil service?
1.05 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
This research is very important not just basically on the civil service of Nigeria alone, it will obviously be established around the impact of recruitment on the Nigeria civil service, which will help in the study in no small measure to determine the factors responsible for appropriate recruitment.
It will help the Nigeria civil service to recruit the people based on merit, not by favouritism or godfatherism. It will also throw more light on the controversial issues on whether the recruitment of employee can influence Ebonyi state civil service. However, it will help to add more knowledge to the existing policies, procedures used in the recruitment of employees, which will help curb unwanted personnel to be employed in civil service. Moreover, the significance of this study is to give insight as to what actually causes lack of recruitment which lead to unemployment, its management and a possible way to go through it.
In a nutshell, it will enable the government, civil service, public and private organisation to create more recruitment vacancies for the society and for young graduate from different higher institutions, which will help to eliminate those crimes cause by unemployment of youths in our country (Nigeria).
1.06 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study covers the general evaluation of recruitment policies and decision adopted by civil service of Ebonyi state. The analysis covers how people are brought into the organization and it will also show to what extent the Nigerian civil service will achieve its goals and objective through proper recruitment and placement of employees.
1.07 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This research work focused on the Impact of recruitment on Nigerian Civil Service, using Ebonyi State Civil Service as a case study. There are so many civil service in various parts of Nigeria, thus, it will be difficult to cover them all within the short period allowed for this study.
In other words, the research work like any other research proposal has some certain factors which acts as a constrains to its findings, some of them are as follows:
- Money/Finance: The research study is limited by money and financial resources available to carryout investigation on the subject. As a student, the researcher does not have enough amount of money to carryout all that is required in making the project a success. An example is higher cost of materials like, typing sheets, payment of jobs done by the typist and photocopies. Others includes traveling expenses as the civil service under study is locate away from my institution and being a student who is dependent, I had little money at my disposal to support the research.
- Time Factor: Time factor set aside for the completion and submission of this project report was not enough for the researcher to carryout in details on the topic chosen. Also as a student, the academic activities in school equally took part of the time given to the researcher.
1.08 DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Recruitment: This is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for job in the organisation. According to Okonkwo, (2011) opined that recruitment “is the process of sourcing for and encouraging job seekers to apply for job openings in an organisation”.
2. Selection: Gatewood and Field, (2001) sees it “as the process of collecting and evaluating information about an individual in order to extend an offer of employment”.
In the words of Okonkwo, (2011) sees it “as choosing the right candidates for the right job”.
3. Interview: An interview is a verbal interaction, between two parties for a particular purpose. Armstrong, (2006) “It involves processing and evaluating evidence about the capacities of a candidates in relation to the person specification”.
4. Placement: This involves matching accurately the job vacancies with the employee which centre primarily on placement policy. It is placing the right people for the right job.
5. Induction: Induction or orientation is the last step in recruitment process and it is also the bridge between newness and continuation. It is what that persuade employees to work effectively.
6. Training: This is a systematic process of making employees learn skills and acquire knowledge for a definite purpose.
According to Abiodun (1990), sees it “as a systematic development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for employees to perform adequately on a given task or job.
7. Performance Appraisal: According to Megginson et al., (1984), is the process an employer uses to determine whether an employee is doing the job as intended. Flippo (1980), sees “it as the systematic, periodic and an impartial rating of an employees excellence in matters pertaining to his present job and his potentialities for a better job”.
8. Promotion: This is the advancement of workers from one job position to another. Sharma and Sadana (1980) sees it “as an advancement from a lower grade or class of the service to a higher one carrying a larger salary and higher duties and responsibilities.
