The Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management (CIHRM), Ghana, has paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, to introduce the institute's newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Francis Eduku, to the Minister.

Leading the delegation of HR Council members to the Minister, the President of CIHRM, Dr. Edward Kwapong, said the visit was essentially to introduce their newly appointed CEO, Dr. Francis Eduku, who is going to be the captain of the ship of their cherished HR Professional body, the only institute with the legal mandate to regulate the practice of Human Resource Management in Ghana.

Dr. Kwapong added that the idea was that in the fullness of time, the institute would embark on a series of structured visits and engagements to introduce the new CEO to their major stakeholders, saying, “As our sector Minister, we have come here this morning to introduce Dr. Eduku to you and your Ministry as a matter of best practice and conventional wisdom, not to forget native intelligence."

Welcoming the HR Professionals to his office and officially meeting the newly appointed CEO, Dr. Eduku, the Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, expressed appreciation for the visit and stated, “Human Resource Management is a key area for the transformation of our nation. If we do it well, the nation benefits. We can maximize productivity when HRM is well executed.”

The Education Minister added that, in education and all other fields of endeavors, the relationship with CIHRM should go beyond supporting the training of our staff to a situation where all our HR officers become members of the Institute.

“We have HR officers in some of our high schools, all our district offices, over 22 Agencies under our ministry, and the Ministry itself has its own HR officers. Therefore, it is important we take steps immediately to see how they meet CIHRM entry requirements, can get the opportunity to begin their HR journey with your Institute, and those in the middle of their HR career, their practice can be perfected so that they can offer us quality service to the country”, the Minister said.

The Minister concluded, "that we cannot continue treating employees like robots, employees need to be cared for as persons, and how we can get our HR people to acquire 21^st Century skills to deliver quality service is key and priority.”

Speaking to the media at the sidelines of the meeting, the new CEO of CIHRM, Ghana, Dr. Francis Eduku, thanked the Minister for the meeting and assured that he would work closely with the Ministry to enhance the competencies of HR officers in the Ministry through continuous professional development and other HR offerings.

He also stated that he would work with the Ministry to bring all the HR officers in the Ministry into the fold of CIHRM, adding that human resource officers with the requisite HR skills are key to the Ministry's success. Dr. Eduku also stressed that he would work hard to continue the good work of his predecessor, Dr. Ebenezer Agbettor.