Academic Conference 2022 Synopsis

THEME: THE COMMENCEMENT OF AfCFTA: OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

Do you have knowledge of how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the agreement establishing it affect you, your institution and/or organisation?

Do you have full knowledge of how the AfCFTA affects the teaching and practice of Human Resource Management?

Can you see the opportunities in the commencement of AfCFTA?

The CIPM’s 2nd International Academic Conference themed “The Commencement of AfCFTA: Opportunities for the Work Environment” is designed to project the opportunities and suggest measures for curtailing risks associated with the implementation of AfCFTA.

OBJECTIVES

• To equip participants with adequate knowledge of the impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area on their personal, professional and business decisions.
• To share knowledge on different opportunities and risks relating to AfCFTA.
• To provide a platform for the interaction of different stakeholders in the academic and business communities.

CONFERENCE SUB-THEMES

IMPACT OF AfCFTA ON HR THEORY AND PRACTICE

The primary goal of the African Continental Free Trade is to enhance socio-economic development, thereby fostering African competitiveness in the global market. This has some implications on the theories and practice of human resource management. This session will project the areas in which AfCFTA affects the theories and practice of human resource management.

CURRICULA AND SKILLS FOR CROSS-BOUNDARY EMPLOYABILITY

The advent of globalisation has permeated businesses and organisations. As such, organisations are no longer restricted by national boundaries. The promotion of intra-African trade and economic integration initiated by the African Continental Free Trade Area has contributed to growth of boundary-less economies.  To meet the demands of this liberalised market, the current workforce must acquire a cross-boundary skill set to remain competitive in boundaryless economies. This session will focus on the modifications required for the teaching curricula of African learning institutions.

BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT AND ADAPTABLE WORKFORCE

The commencement of AfCFTA will require the onboarding and integration of people from different socio-cultural backgrounds (with different cultures, traditions, beliefs, languages, and lifestyles) to deliver superior business results. This session will address the following issues among others:

• Workforce diversity management
• Inclusive work environment
• Inclusive work culture
• Bridging inclusion gap
• Global diversity survey model and adaptable workforce
• Workplace dynamism

VIRTUAL WORK AND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING

Virtual work allows individuals to work from home, with the aid of modern technology to get things done, while employee well-being is the organisational commitment to the need or welfare of the employees working virtually or within the organisation’s designated locations. This session will address the following issues among others:

• Virtual work and work-life balance
• Technology and effectiveness of work
• Remote work and quality of life
• Wellbeing at work and employee engagement

INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSE TO EMPLOYABILITY GAPS

This session will look at the various interventions required of government and organisations to bridge the employability skills gap. The interventions could be in terms of policies and programmes. This session will address the following issues among others:

• Employment opportunities and poverty reduction in the trade areas
• Wages for unskilled workers in the trade areas
• Gender wage gap
• Flexible labour markets
• Employment volume and remuneration
• Skill gap analysis and the associated report

IMPLEMENTATION OF AfCFTA: THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement implementation seeks to impact skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, both men and women. Therefore, organisations need to put in place regulations and procedures that will see to the implementation of AfCFTA in shaping employee behaviour in the world of work. This session will address the following issues among others:

• Roles of Policymakers in the implementation of AfCFTA
• Monitoring and evaluation of AfCFTA
• Costs of job-switching policies
• Perceived benefits of implementation of AfCFTA in different sectors
• Review of the AfCFTA Agreement

THE CHALLENGE OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF AfCFTA POLICY

The AfCFTA aims to bring free trade to 1.3 billion people in Africa in an economic bloc of $3.4 trillion. However, it has to surmount some challenges such as poor road and rail links, political and economic instability, and excessive border bureaucracy. If these challenges are surmounted, then the purpose of AfCFTA will be realised. The conference will provide an avenue to suggest ways these barriers will be broken and create access to one of the biggest economic blocs in the world. This session will address the following issues among others:

• Strategies for the implementation of AfCFTA in Nigeria
• The role of Public and Private Partnership in the implementation of AfCFTA
• Cultural dynamics and implementation of AfCFTA
• Barriers to regional and African integration include: language, transportation, visas restrictions, currencies differential and tariff, etc.
• Regional political will and social mobilization for active participation in the AfCFTA project.

AfCFTA AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, COMPETITION AND HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

The AfCFTA is an important vehicle for realising the pan-African vision of regional economic integration and structural transformation of Africa’s economy. The Intellectual Property Right (IPR) Protocol can help African Union (AU) Member States ensure that Intellectual Property (IP) policy is applied to support Africa’s developmental goals.

Though there are attempts by African countries to meet up with the world’s level of IPRs protection, some challenges need to be dealt with in order to move toward effective IPRs protection. IPR enforcement is hampered by several factors such as loopholes, bureaucratic bottlenecks, lack of technical knowledge, abilities and public awareness. The result is the proliferation of piracy, counterfeiting, unauthorized/unlicensed usage, and violation of intellectual property rights.   Intellectual property protection is critical to the achievement of the objectives of AfCFTA. There must be adequate and effective protection of the intellectual property rights of the players in the unified and singular market.

This session will address the following issues among others:

• Relationship between AfCFTA and capacity building
• Intellectual property rights: challenges and solutions
• AfCFTA implementation in the competitive business environment
• Intellectual property rights and gaps