EVALUATION OF EMPLOYABILITY INDICES AMONG UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES IN NORTH-WEST NIGERIA
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Date
2019
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UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN
Abstract
It has been established that the end result of education is not knowledge but actions. The possession of a degree is necessary but not quite sufficient for graduate employability. Apart from the qualification that the graduates possess, there are other attributes which employers of labour emphasized. This emphasis have necessitated further studies as employers of labour are not only concerned about those having higher education but practical and generic skills appropriate for job fulfillment. Hence, this study proceed to evaluate employability indices among university undergraduates in North West Nigeria.
This study employed the descriptive research design, specifically, the evaluation design. The population comprises all university undergraduates Students in North West Nigeria. Multi-stage approach using Simple random and purposive sampling technique was used to select 1334 final year undergraduates from the selected Universities. The research instrument for this study was researcher developed instrument entitled “Employability Indices Questionnaire” (EIQ). It was validated by six experts in measurement and evaluation and social sciences education, with a reliability coefficient of 0.82 and 0.83 for employability perception scale and employability skills scale respectively. Nine research questions were generated to guide this study while two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significant. Data collected were analyzed using; summated scale, and t-test; while Factor analysis was also used to explore, validate and establish the factors.
The findings of the study revealed that:
i. Majority of university undergraduates in North West Nigeria perceived themselves to have high knowledge of employability.
ii. Majority of university undergraduates in North West Nigeria perceived themselves to have High Need of employability skills (lifelong learning skill, problem solving, emotional intelligence, team work, commitment to self-development and communication skills)
iii. There was no statistically significant difference in employability perception of male and that of female students in North West Nigeria.
iv. The employability skill component (life-long learning skill, problem solving skill, emotional intelligent skill, team work skill, commitment to self-development skill and communication skill) are statistically independent.
Based on the findings, it was concluded that university undergraduates in North West Nigeria have high perception of the knowledge of employability. However, the respondents have high need of life-long learning skills, problem solving, emotional intelligence, team-work, commitment to self-development and communication skills). This implies that university undergraduates in North West Nigeria have low level of all the employability skills investigated in this study. As such, it was recommended that work integrated learning (WIL) programmes like teaching practice, internship, and student industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) should be adequately supervised and funded with dip sense of commitment. Students should consider commitment to self-development by participating in extra curriculum activities, volunteer service during long vacation and extension of work-study to other vocational areas. Both instruction and assessment of university undergraduates should challenge and develop students’ life-long learning skills, critical thinking, communication, team-work, problem solving skills and other relevant skills before graduation. Universities and Governments should ensure that there is a clear connection and collaboration between schools and industries.
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Keywords
EMPLOYABILITY INDICES, UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES, NORTH-WEST NIGERIA