Human Resource Development, A Catalyst for Economic Growth and Development: A Case Study of Industrial Training Fund, Yola Area Office. Adamawa State

Human resource is invariably among the most important resources of Nigeria. Even when there are gigantic machines, sophisticated equipment and natural resources, human resources still prevail. This therefore, calls for the need to adequately develop the human resources and then utilize human resources for the development of the Nigerian economy. The importance of the human resource development in the Nigeria Civil Services as well as other organizations is unique and cannot be underestimated. This is because; human resources are easily recognized as the most important of the resource requirement for the production of goods and services. It is the master key to the rapid industrialization and socio-economic growth. This necessitated why this research work assessed the importance of human resources as a catalyst for economic growth and development in Nigeria, using Industrial Training Fund, Yola area office as a case study. The study adopted the functionalist theory along with the Human resource management theory to make constructive analysis on the importance of human resources to the economic growth and development of a country. The researcher used primary source of data in order to acquire and obtain information about the study. Questionnaire was designed and distributed to the sample population drawn from the population of the study area using Tarro Yammane formula. The data collected were presented in tables and the results analysed. Chi-square was used to test the hypotheses formulated. At the end of this research, it was evidently proved that development of human resources contributed greatly to economic growth and development of Nigeria among other findings. Recommendations towards uplifting the stages of human resources development and encouraging the appropriate development and utilization of human resources in all facades of the nation’s economic development was also made.