Human Capital Development and Industrial Sector Performance in Pre And Post Covid-19 Era: The Australian Experience (Published)
The importance of the ravaging pandemic on human development and industrial sector performance cannot be overemphasized. This is because an improved and quality industrial output is a function of quality human resources. This study explicitly examined the effects of the ravaging pandemic on human development and industrial sector performance in Australia during pre and post COVID-19 era. Human development was measured with the Human Development Index (HDI), Inequality Adjusted HDI (IHDI), Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and the Gender Development Index (GDI) while the Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) and the Industry Value Added (IVA) were used to capture the trend in Australia’s industrial sector performance during pre and post COVID-19 era. Data were sourced from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the United Nations Development (UNDP) Report and World Bank indicators. The study findings revealed, amongst others, that human quality was better off before the pandemic than after it and this was explicitly reflected in the country’s industrial output, as a better performance was recorded before the pandemic than after it. Australia, like China, needs more aggressive net zero CO2 emission policies including those relating human development to industrial output. Aggressive export diversification would help her economy recover faster from the adverse effects of the ravaging pandemic through effective and efficient utilization of her renewable energy sources.
Keywords: COVID-19, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA), Earnings before Interest, Human Development Index (HDI), Industry Value Added (IVA), Tax
Effect of Covid-19 Lockdown on Human Resource Performance on Deposit Money Banks in Yola Metropolis (Published)
The corona virus pandemic is a global challenge that adversely affected the human race in almost all strata of life especially the economic sector. It is therefore in light of the above that this study examines the effect of Covid-19 lockdown on human resources performance on deposit money banks in Nigeria with particular reference to Yola metropolis. The study adopted dual research method where survey and in-depth interview were deployed to retrieved data from the sampled population which comprises of employees and management staff of various banks in Yola metropolis. Findings of the study revealed that the Covid-19 lockdown adversely and enormously affected the operations of money deposit banks especially in the area of human resource performance as all banks were either partially or totally shutdown during the lockdown. It was also found that panic and incessant fear of the unknown affected the employees from discharging their duties even when the lockdown was lifted. The study recommended among other things that is the need for effective communication in organizations during time of uncertainty such as the outbreak of the corona virus in order to minimize or eliminate fear among employees because it has the potency to deter their performance. Furthermore, there is the need for organizations to always strategize on how to motivate and retain their employees during uncertainties times’ especially economic tumult.
Keywords: COVID-19, Effect, Human Resources, Performance, lockdown
The impact of COVID-19 on Economy and Employment – Main highlights on worldwide trends (Published)
The present paper discusses the economic features of the current Covid-19 outbreak and its relation to labor markets and new skills in demand. It mainly focuses in analysing the recent global trends in affected sectors, examines the current unemployment issues while deepens in the kind of new skills and soft skills in demand that are necessary for an easier transition to the new Covid-19 way of life.
Keywords: COVID-19, Economy, Employment, Skills, coronavirus, labor markets, pandemic