Can you give a brief overview of Workforce Group and the services the company provides?

Workforce Group, a diverse but highly complementary family of companies, is one of Africa’s leading strategy, staffing, training and technology firms. From our inception in 2004, we have helped some of the most important and exciting organisations on the continent find the critical talent and advice they require to grow in a challenging market. We also help multinational companies enter and succeed in Africa’s largest markets.

We support organisations of varying size, structure and maturity across diverse sectors such as technology, telecoms, oil and gas, financial services, public sector, FMCG, etc. to enhance business performance, optimise for growth and achieve exceptional results. We do these by drawing on the expertise of over 125 highly-experienced consultants, industry-leading strategic/technical partners, and over 8,000 associate staff across the continent.

What sets us apart is the depth of our capabilities, creative problem-solving approach, and proven track record in our practice areas combined with in-depth knowledge of the realities of the sectors/industries we serve.

Our ground-breaking Zone Tech Park offers start-ups and established companies the cutting-edge facilities, technology and business expertise they need to break out and thrive.

What is Workforce Group’s role in the oil and gas sector?

In an uncertain political and economic environment like Nigeria, having the right talent at all levels and functions remains the most significant competitive advantage in the oil and gas industry and the nation at large. However, the industry is beset with a number of human capital issues ranging from shortage of quality talent to widening workforce skill gaps and then difficulties with hiring or reskilling to address these gaps. This is where we come in. With our depth and knowledge of industry trends and the talent needs/requirements of the industry, we empower our clients with the people and skills needed to help them achieve their desired goals.

We understand that having the right people in the right roles is a critical differentiator for any firm in the oil and gas sector to survive and thrive, hence we are obsessed with delivering the manpower solutions that guarantee results for our clients.

What do your clients appreciate about the service you offer?

They love the strategy-first approach that we deploy in all our engagements. We invest unrivalled efforts into first understanding our client’s business, aspirations, challenges and strategy before going ahead to develop creative, context-relevant and sustainable solutions that help them achieve their desired objectives.

Because they know we are not just order-takers but veteran business people ourselves, they delight in the knowledge that we can identify with their biggest pain points to provide pragmatic solutions that deliver tangible results and they trust the insights we give them.

Finally, our track record, partnership mind-set and ability to integrate technology into our solutions continues to give our clients the confidence to trust us with their most significant people and business challenges.

Can you elaborate on the e-learning platform Workforce Group offers to the oil and gas industry?

Our e-learning platform (PeerlessLMS.com) provides companies with the opportunity to upscale their talent development initiatives cost-effectively. The platform offers users the opportunity to extend learning beyond the classroom, which makes it an efficient method of delivering regulatory, compliance, safety and process knowledge across their organisations.

With Peerless MS learner engagement is made easy, assessments become transparent and corporate intellectual collateral can be easily managed and protected.

As an indigenous company, how has Workforce Group faced the challenge of access to capital and liquidity?

Over the last few years, there has been a significant emphasis on making capital more easily accessible to local entrepreneurs, and a variety of initiatives have been deployed to make affordable capital more available. However, there is still a bit more that can be done about the tenure and conditions attached to such funds.

Also, in-house we have embraced and deployed technology-enabled solutions to improve our operational efficiency and prioritise sustainability over short-term performance.

However, without discounting the difficulty of accessing affordable capital in Nigeria, I have always found that access to market and capable talent are bigger challenges.

What are Workforce Group’s objectives moving forward?

Workforce Group has grown significantly over the years, starting off with one line of business to growing five semi-autonomous subsidiaries which allows us to offer our clients a more balanced portfolio of solutions.

Over the next two years, we will be expanding our operations into more African countries; currently, we are present in six other countries asides from Nigeria. Our objective is to create a more visible brand across Africa as the reliable business partner committed to helping both national and international companies succeed in their business ventures.