International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: Career development is an important tool for enhancing employee abilities, motivation, and commitment necessary for quality service delivery. In Zanzibar Local Government Authorities’ context, various career development initiatives are offered to increase performance of the employees and better service delivery. Despite these efforts, employees are still underperforming, raising a concern on the effectiveness of career development programmes offered. Also, whereas numerous studies exist on the influence of career development on employee performance, there remains a gap on how career development initiatives carried out in the unique administrative system of Zanzibar local government authorities.
Objective: The current study examined how career development practices influence employee performance in Zanzibar Local Government Authorities, focusing on West B Council and Zanzibar Municipal Council.
Method: The study adopted mixed research, gathering quantitative data from 242 respondents using questionnaire, and interview was employed to collect qualitative information from key informants. PLS-SEM and content analysis were used to analyse the data.
Result: The finding indicates that career development significantly influences employee performance (? = 0.222, p = 0.001).
Conclusion: Effective practices of career development increase employees’ abilities, motivation, and commitment, leading to employee performance and organisational productivity.
Unique Contribution: The study result offers a nuanced understanding on the need for effective career development initiatives to increase performance of the employees and overall organisational success. Key Recommendations: It is recommended that Zanzibar Local Governments should institutionalize and effectively implement comprehensive career development initiatives that are explicitly aligned with competency requirements, performance standards, and organisational goals.