PRE-RETIREMENT TRAINING SCHEME FOR FEDERAL CIVIL SERVANTS

Improved welfare and well-being of Federal Civil Servants is one of the target areas of the current Civil Service reform initiatives as outlined in the Federal Civil Service Strategy Implementation Plan 2017 – 2020.

Towards achieving this target, the Service Welfare Office was mandated to address all welfare related issues outlined in the Plan. One of the key initiatives of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation is the Federal Civil Service Exit Management Programme, which is targeted at providing a smooth transition to retirement of employees in the Federal Civil Service.

The Programme is made up of three components: the Pre-Retirement Training Scheme, Employees Offboarding Scheme, and the Post-Retirement Service Scheme.

Pre-Retirement Training Scheme, would prepare Civil Servants for life after Service by providing prospective retirees with new skill sets that would enable them have second career choices just before retirement, and thus the opportunity for a smooth transition into retirement.

Federal Civil Service Offboarding Scheme, would provide structured processes for employees’ exit from the Federal Civil Service.

Federal Civil Service Post-Retirement Service Scheme, would harness the experience of commited, competent, and resourceful retired top Civil Servants and Permanent Secretaries whose skills, capacities, and experiences could be utilized by MDAs to support efficient and effective delivery in the system either as Mentors, Volunteers, Consultants, Resource Persons, or Technical Advisers.

This edition of the Service Welfare Newsletter provides detailed feature on the Pre-Retirement Training Scheme.

Retirement is a mixed grill, with many prospective retirees unprepared, unsure and afraid of the start of what should be a well-deserved ‘rest’ and the chance to self-please – doing things at their own pace.

To mitigate these fears, it has become imperative to support prospective senior citizens in preparing for the life ahead. A number of issues that agitate the minds of these categories of Civil Servants include: what future lies ahead of them, how they will manage financially in view of the impending stoppage of monthly salary; and what they will do with all the extra time that would become available to them.

Several countries across the world provides for a well-planned Transition to Retirement Programme which allows prospective Retirees take up part-time jobs as alternative streams of income few years before retirement.

While Nigerian Civil Servants may not be allowed to take-up just any form of part-time jobs, the 1999 Constitution allows Civil Servants to engage in farming while still in service. It is pleasing to note that as part of the Exit Management Programme, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has approved that the Pre-Retirement Programme be tailored around training in various Agriculture Business Enterprises for Officers within the last five years of their career, so that while still in Service, they could partake in ventures that would help them generate additional income.

In addition to agriculture businesses, the programme would also feature training on other business ventures, including Consultancy and leadership skills for Officers at the tail end of their career, so they could be enhanced to start various business initiatives when they exit the Service.

The Pre-Retirement Programme would therefore support prospective Retirees by providing the opportunity for a smooth transition into retirement through the provision of second career choices. It would also support the prospective retirees to recognize the key challenges and opportunities that retirement presents and help them in setting goals and aspirations for the next phase of life.

The Programme would also provide access to information that would assist in making sound decisions as part of preparation for retirement, and expose prospective retirees to knowledge that would make them become more conscious of their strengths and competencies in order to continually develop and use them as long as possible.

It is expected that all these would empower retirees to see through traditional images and stereotypes on ageing and retirement, and not to let their new lives be predicted by outdated prejudices. The Programme would also empower participants to make better informed decisions about financial planning for retirement, address health concerns in retirement, and highlight opportunities available for volunteer work.

To achieve its noble objectives, a Quarterly Pre-Retirement Planning Workshop has been approved by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

The Workshop offers a structured approach to defining, analyzing & planning what should be a graceful retirement, as well as equipping participants with tools relevant for a fulfilling, healthy, & prosperous post-retirement. The Workshop provides the opportunity for participants to acquire new skills for decision-making towards effective succession planning including direct applicability of the techniques.

This bespoke Programme is also designed to support participants in business setup and expansion drive, challenge the status quo, assure financial independence, introduce capital raising alternatives, eliminate the fear factor, and ensure sustainability, as well as graceful and fulfilling post-retirement.

The Programme offers the opportunity for prospective retirees to go through a well-structured and researched ‘check-list’ of things they ought to have considered and give them the capacity to exploit retirement’s rich potential.

The programme has been piloted and its undergoing review using the experiences garnered from the pilot phase.

The programme would be launched shortly.