CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
It is an indisputable fact that education is a no do without in the development of a nation’s economy. But a perfect and complete education is achieved when one head, heart and hands are trained. Meanwhile among all these, the most important is the training of the hands because with that of the head and heart but without the one of hands, one cannot display. Secondly, it is what the nation needs to develop its economy to a state of self-reliance, independence on foreign expertise and be industrialized which is the heart cry of every nation.But what go on in the tertiary institutions are the training of head and heart. Thus the introductions of industrial training (I.T) which will help actualize the training of the hands and make the students competent enough in facing the tasks ahead.Moreover, industrial training (I.T) participation has become a necessary pre-condition for the award of diploma in the polytechnic set up.The practice of subjecting students to more theoretical background of real life situations as against the practical orientation has become highly unacceptable in the Nigerian society today. Many students with the theoretical orientation end up unemployed and the number keeps increasing exponentially. Based on the preliminary field discussions, it was gathered that, the unemployment situation in the country can be attributed to the changing focus of employers. The depreciation of the Nigerian currency and other macro-economic factors which are beyond the control of the employer is been given less attention when dealing with cost reduction. Rather, employers are now focusing on micro economic factors’ within their control to manage their operational costs. Every business owner prefers to engage the services of versatile people so that they can benefits from their theoretical knowledge as well as practical experiences. This brings to mind the characteristics of a versatile graduate in Nigeria. Obviously, graduates become highly employable if they are doctored with a mixture of theory and practical. Many tertiary institutions in the country have adopted industrial training as a module so that students could have practical exposure whiles in school. In line with employers’ expectations, students would have the feel of real life situations before they graduate. According to Stuliff industrial exposure gives the academics a chance to seek inputs and feedback from practicing professionals who can provide valuable insight into the skills and abilities students would need in their career. It is also an opportunity for students to personally practice the theoretical models in the classroom to enhance their chances of securing employment after graduation. In addition to this advantage, students are re-shaped perceptually and psychologically to be on top of any practical encounter. This psychological disposition serves as a bridge between the world of theoretical learning and practical exposure. In Nigeria, Industrial training for students has not achieved the expected results due to some challenges. It was discovered that inappropriate placement of students and poor supervision during training, reluctance to allow students to use industrial facilities for training have contributed to the ineffectiveness of industrial training. Since employers are looking beyond the graduate’s academic knowledge, students who are hit by these short comings become non-competitive. It is however believed that, when industrial training produces favorable effect on graduate’s employability, stakeholders would assist in the eradication of the challenges indicated above. Another motivation for this research work was derived from the fact that some developed nations have realized the need to augment the traditional education programs.
Several attempts have been made by successive government in Nigeria from time immemorial to empower the youth with employable skills with a view to alleviating unemployment and poverty. For instance the establishment of National Poverty Eradication Program (NAPEP) 2000/2001, Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) 1988/89, and National Directorate of Employment (NDE) 1986, among others are government efforts towards eradicating joblessness, unemployment and poverty among the people. However, all these programs and government interventions seem not to address the real foundational problem which is hidden in the Nigerian education system and its products. The Polytechnic education in Nigeria is established to impart the youths with practical and employable skills. Regrettably however, contrary seems to be the situation. Teaming number of polytechnic graduates are unemployed and jobless. This scenario is not far-fetched from the fact that they were ill-equipped with entrepreneurial skills in the course of their education. Thus there is need to assess acquisition of entrepreneurial skills by prospective students of polytechnics in the State of Osun, Nigeria with a view to finding out the strengths or weaknesses of polytechnic education in equipping the Nigerian youths with necessary and relevant employable skills. Hence, this study becomes very germane. The polytechnic education in Nigeria as in other parts of the world is established with a view to imparting relevant and necessary work skills in prospective students. Every course of study in Nigeria polytechnics has potential for entrepreneurship. It is, however, regrettable that most Nigerian youths, who attend polytechnics, lack entrepreneurial skills which could make them to be employable or self-employed/self-reliant after their graduation from school. Kitzer (2007) defined entrepreneurship as a process in which individuals pursue opportunities, fulfilling needs and wants through innovations, together with the attendant risks. According to Klaipeda Business School (2009) Entrepreneurship is defined as the main skill necessary in order to conform to the conditions of the ever-changing knowledge and information society. Nwanaka and Amaechule (2011) are of the view that Nigeria’s social and economic problems will be drastically reduced if students are given adequate vocational training in skills, raw materials, machineries and equipment. According to Maigida, Saba &Namkere (2013), the modern world economy requires innovation, training, reinventing in vocational education and entrepreneurship training that will significantly favor the youth. World over, there is always job for the skilled. Dhenak (2010) laments that though there is abundant labor supply there is generally scarcity of skills at all levels of socio-economy. There is no doubt that joblessness and unemployment continue to grow unabated in Nigeria due to poor acquisition of entrepreneurial/vocational skills. According to Osemeke (2012), a skill implies an ability which can be developed, not necessarily inborn, and which is manifested in performance, not merely in potential.
