AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CHALLENGES OF HUMAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN NIGERIA AND THE STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING THEM

Abstract

Human Resources are the most valuable assets of any nation. With the machines, materials, land and money, nothing gets done without human efforts. The potentials of human efforts are simply what is termed human capital. These are the set of people that an organisation hires to achieve her set goals and objectives. Human capital investment is thus, the systematic acquisition of relevant skills, knowledge and expertise in other to be able to function effectively, efficiently and optimally in any area of endeavour. However, certain challenges have continued to bedevil purposeful investment in this all important resource. This includes but not limited to Nigerian institutional inadequacies, and low level of individual interest. Strategies to surmount these challenges are the crux of this paper. The paper noted that, for Nigeria to compete favourably among the comity of nations, high premium should be given to purposeful and result-driven investment in human capital. This is so because a major finding of the study revealed that there is a significant relationship between human capital investment and the level of a country’s development. The paper therefore recommend  that Nigerian government should take education more seriously while organizations, both  public and private are enjoined to note that knowledge and its investment should be seen to be sacrosanct.