Training and Performance of Public Procurement Professionals in Tanzania: The Mediating Role of Career Development

Abstract

Training and career development have been considered to improve employee performance because better-quality human capital is vital in enhancing employee performance. This study analysed the influence of training on the performance of public procurement professionals when mediated by career development in Tanzania. The study used a cross-sectional research design involving 204 public procurement professionals from Dodoma city in Tanzania. The study applied Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) as a part of Covariance Based-Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM) and Hayes' PROCESS macro to analyse the data and determine the relationship between the training and performance of public procurement professionals when mediated by career development in Tanzania. The results show that training and career development determine the performance of public procurement professionals. Training facilitates the career development of public procurement professionals, whereas career development mediates the relationship between training and the performance of public procurement professionals. This study only considers training and career development, among other aspects of human resource development practices. This excludes the other human resource development practices in public organisations. This study brings together human resource development concepts (training and career development) and the performance of public procurement professionals. Thus, it adds value to the literature on human resource management concerning the performance of public procurement professionals.