This study examined the impact of Human Resources Intellectual Development (HRID) on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) performance in selected manufacturing industries in Osun State., Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to determine training and development programs, skill acquisition and employee educational background affect employee productivity. Survey research design was used for the study. The population of the study consisted of all the 46,433 employees in manufacturing SMEs operating in Osun State, Nigeria. A sample of 397 SMEs was selected. Taro Yamane formula was used to determine the sample size. Data was collected from owners, managers and employees through a structured questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were adopted in data analysis. Descriptive analysis (mean and standard deviation) were used to summarize data while multiple regression analysis was used to test hypotheses. Results revealed that training and development programs, skill acquisition and employee educational background all had significant positive effects on employee productivity with different level of magnitude. Based on the findings, the study concluded that HRID improves the performance of SMEs in the manufacturing industries in Osun State, Nigeria. Based on conclusion, the study recommended that the management of SMEs in the manufacturing industry in Osun States should increase funding on training and development programs, skill acquisition and encourage employees to raise their level of educational background higher
Keywords: Employee, Employee Productivity, Skill Acquisition, Small and Medium Enterprises, educational background, human resource intellectual development
