Influence of Training and Development on Affective Commitment among Academic Staff of Public Universities in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Many Nigerian public universities are bedeviled with diverse challenges ranging from inadequate condition of work, human resource capacity and retaining skilled academic staff. This has overtime had debilitating consequences on the ability of these institutions to make giant strides especially from the purview of political and socio-economic developments. These attendant challenges have created reasons as to why the Nigerian tertiary institutions are experiencing continuous dearth of skilled teaching personnel and as a result, the quest for skilled academic personnel continues to rise. Based on these arguments, this study examined the influence of training and development as an employee retention strategy on affective commitment among academic staff of public universities in Lagos State, Nigeria. The population comprised 3354 academic staff from University of Lagos, Akoka-Yaba, National Open University of Nigeria, Victoria-Island, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Ikorodu and Lagos State University of Education, Ijanikin. Through a multiple sampling technique, a total of 450 respondents served as the sample size for the study. Data were analysed using both descriptive, as well as inferential statistics. Findings revealed that a positive and significant relationship exist between training and development and affective commitment with (r=0.941, p-value<0.05). The study concluded that for academic staff of public universities to remain committed, management of public universities must fashion out modalities and framework for blending training and development, towards enhancing the commitment of academic staff in Nigerian public universities.