By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

There is need for the board and management of insurance companies to set aside yearly budget for training and re-training of all staff in order to boost human capacity and enhance productivity.

Director General of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr. Kola Ahmed who made this assertion in Lagos, noted that the importance of regular training for insurance practitioners cannot be over emphasised.
According to Ahmed, the insurance industry still needs to do more as regards training of their workforce to enhance productivity.

Ahmed said that the budget for training should not be skewed towards the top echelon of insurance companies alone, but must be spread to accommodate both junior workers.
This he said is necessary if the board and management expects the performance of workers to increase going forward.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of FBN Life Assurance, Mr. Val Ojumah, has charged insurance operators to regularly send their staff for training in order to equip them to play effective role in the oil and gas risk business.

According to Ojumah, the level of knowledge on oil and gas business by some insurance practitioners is relatively low therefore one way of ensuring that companies play actively in the oil and gas business is to demonstrate and show that employees are sent to training institutions.
Ojumah noted that training of insurance personnel could serve as key for the industry to break the myth that surrounds the oil and gas industry.

Also, former Managing Director of Crystalife Assurance Plc, Mrs. Oluseyi Ifaturoti said that the success of the insurance industry is hinged on the effective training and retraining of human capital in the industry.
Ifaturoti said that training and retraining programmes must assume a different dimension with emphasis on preparing the workforce for higher challenges. The CIIN, according to Ifaturoti, is statutorily empowered to cater for the insurance industry educational and training needs, a function which has become more imperative in the emerging scenario.