Impact of Employee Competence Development on Service Delivery Quality in Selected Travel and Tour Enterprises in Lagos State

This study assessed the impact of worker training on service quality in some travel and tour businesses in Lagos State, Nigeria. Though the travel and tourism industry are one of the largest international business and employment generating industries, the Nigerian travel industry has ticketing, foreign exchange and trust issues with the potential clientele, and not much has been written about worker competencies in this industry. What this study has attempted is to close the gap by assessing the impact of worker training, and skills and service trade certifications, on service delivery in travel and tour businesses, and the combined impact of these elements on service delivery. The study adopted the Human Capital Theory (Becker 1964) and a quantitative research design. With a sampling plan, data was collected from 236 workers and 362 customers in 20 businesses. Purposive sampling was used to select the businesses. The data was collected using the Employee Competence Development Questionnaire (ECDQ) and the Customer Service Delivery Quality Questionnaire (CSDQQ) and analyzed using SPSS 29. Reliability (β = 0.24; p = 0.001) and responsiveness (β = 0.22; p = 0.002) were positively influenced by training. Assurance (β = 0.30; p < 0.001) was also positively influenced by training, with the strongest influence observed for assurance. Positive impacts of skills acquisition were observed for reliability (β = 0.34; p < 0.001), responsiveness (β = 0.40; p < 0.001) and assurance (β = 0.28; p < 0.001). Of the three variables, skills acquisition had the strongest positive influence on reliability and responsiveness, with positive influence on responsiveness being the greatest of all standardized influences. The positive impacts of certification were restricted to the influence on assurance (β = 0.15; p = 0.005). While the positive impacts of certification on both reliability (β = 0.10; p = 0.096) and responsiveness (β = 0.08; p = 0.184) were observed, they were not statistically significant. The study concluded that improving the competencies of employees helps improve the quality of service offered, and that skills development is most important, followed by training and certification. The study also concluded that to improve the quality of service, travel and tourism businesses should develop the staff through formal training and skills development programs, as well as through certification. It was also recommended that other regulatory authorities that license travel and tourism businesses should also require that the businesses develop the staff of such businesses through continual professional development.