Abuja - Over the past years, IOM has supported the Nigeria Immigration Service in developing and updating the NIS Training Strategy which aims to institutionalise the common training approach across the agency and boost its overall capacity in fulfilling its mandate defined in the 2015 Immigration Act. The “Nigeria Immigration Service Training Strategy Implementation Phase 1 (TSI-1) “project successfully contributed to the implementation of the Training Strategy through: i) the establishment of six NIS Personnel Training Resource Centers (PTRCs) across the country; ii) development of a training curriculum and Learning Management System (LMS); and iii) training for NIS officers provided by NIS Training Focal Points (TFPs) who have been trained as trainers. Feedback from senior management from the NIS and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) as well as trained NIS/NAPTIP officers on the initiative has been extremely positive, highlighting the strong willingness of the officers to learn further. 

As a part of efforts to continue the successes of the Training Strategy Implementation Programme Phase 1 (TSI-1) project, the second phase of the programme (TSI – 2) has commenced to further build on the outcomes of the first phase. To better inform an improved and sustainable approach for the Strategy implementation, the TSI-2 seeks to first evaluate the training activities of TSI-1 which includes evaluation of the training curriculum and learning management system (LMS), the PTRCs and TFPs capacity to facilitate adult learning activities. The outcome of the assessment findings will enable an upgraded curriculum and LMS, better equipped TFP capacity and the establishment of at least four PTRC at four NIS State Commands. This will further enable a scale up of the training programme to reach a larger number of NIS officers, enhance joint training efforts which will enable a fostered  interagency collaboration with NAPTIP and Port Health Services (PHS) with considerations to establishing COVID-19 control measures during trainings.

IOM conducted training evaluation in PTRCs located in Cross River, Kano State and Abuja for the TSI-1 training activities which includes the curriculum and LMS. During this evaluation exercise feedback and recommendations were gathered from trainees and the TFPs for the continuation phase. 

To this end, officials from the NIS, NAPTIP and the Port Health Services, who make up the Technical Working Group (TWG), converged in Lagos, Nigeria, to discuss the evaluation findings and strategize on the way forward. The outcome of this meeting will be a roadmap and action plan for the TSI – 2 with inclusion to gender mainstreaming into the curriculum as well as the agencies’ training activities as a whole. 

Speaking at the event, Maysa KHALIL, the IBM Program Manager, said “this meeting is aimed to bring together agencies working at points of entries to plan, strategize and recommend sustainable training solutions that will further foster interagency collaboration as well as better mainstream gender into the training activities.”

Considering the importance of gender mainstreaming in all planned training actions for agencies, gender analysis and gender mainstreaming sensitizations were conducted for the agencies to further support gender mainstreaming activities in the project. This is to further enable a more responsive action in line with the National Gender Policy, as well as agencies Gender Policy such as the NAPTIP Gender Policy 2020. 

The Comptroller General of Immigration (CGI) represented by the Deputy Comptroller of Immigration (DCI) Nubi Adejoke enjoined all agencies present to “interestingly work as a team to achieve a common goal which is to develop action plan for the second phase with inclusion to gender mainstreaming”.

She added that “the trainings at the PTRCs have been very impactful, NIS officers are now well informed which is translated in the way and manner we discharge our responsibilities, in a more professional and strategic manner especially at the borders”.
The second phase will work on boosting learning culture, enhancing the agencies internal capacity to gradually but fully take over the responsibility to ensure that basic training made available to all officers and will become part of the Human Resource (HR) rules when employing new officers or for the career development for existing officers. 

The project “Training Implementation Strategy Programme Phase II”, is funded by the Government of The Netherlands.

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For more information, please get in touch with Mariam Owoeye at IOM Nigeria, Tel: +09062421091, Email:  mowoeye@iom.int