The Effects of Training and Development on Employee Performance in the Public Sector of Ghana

The quality of Human Resource is an asset to any organization and as a result Training has become an issue that has to be faced by every organization. The amount, and quality of training carried out varies enormously from organization to organization due to factors such as the degree of external change, for instance, new markets or new processes, the adaptability of existing workforce and importantly the extent to which the organization supports the idea of internal career development. Most organizations meet their needs for training in an ad hoc and haphazard way whiles others set about identifying their training needs, then design training activities in a rational manner and finally assess the results of training. This study, therefore, sought to determine the impact of Training and Development on public sector organizations using Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority (GPHA) as a case study. The research was intended to determine the role and impact of training on employees with emphasis on the lower, middle level staff and the administrators of GPHA, who were randomly selected. The study assessed the training and development process of GPHA and whether training has improved employee performance. A questionnaire was designed using structured questions to collect primary data from employees of GPHA. Personal interviews were held with some management staff of the organization. The results indicated that GPHA’s employees were not well informed about training and development programmes in the organization. Most of the employees were of the view that training and development were effective tools for both personal and organizational success. The findings revealed that training practices, methods and activities at GPHA are not in line with the best practices regarding the planned and systematic nature of the training process as is generally known. It was recommended among other things, that the processes involved in training be duly followed, GPHA should help its staff identify their career paths and to guide them in the pursuit of higher education.