THE FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS INDUSTRIAL WORKING EXPERIENCE SCHEME

THE FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS INDUSTRIAL WORKING EXPERIENCE SCHEME (SIWES) IN NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

CHAPITER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND

A skills-training program called the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) aims to expose and prepare university and other tertiary students for the industrial work environment they will likely face after graduation. Additionally, it is a planned and structured program with specific career objectives designed to improve participants’ vocational skills (Nwachukwu, 1986). As a result, all Nigerian university students enrolled in particular topics must complete the SIWES program in order to graduate. The Students’ Industry Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) is an industry attachment-based human capital creation program designed to give students actual experience based on concepts and theories they have acquired in the classroom. Supervised Industrial Work Experience Scheme, or SIWES, is a program designed to expose students from higher education institutions in Nigeria to real-world skill development in the workplace (ITF, 2002). One of the first parastatals established by the Nigerian Federal Government for the development and training of human resources was the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). It was established by Decree No. 47 of the 8th of October 1971 during the second National Development of 1970–1974 in line with the post–independence objective for improved economic growth and development. When it first started, the ITF noticed a substantial gap between students’ theoretical and practical training, which was also seen by labor companies, indicating a sizable demand for training that would adequately prepare students for employment in industry (ITF, 2002). A nation’s human resources can be developed through purposeful, goal-oriented education and training. In Nigeria, the process of developing and training human resources is seen as innovative since work-based education fundamentally trains people for the workforce. For this reason, SIWES was integrated into the formal educational system. The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), supported by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), was founded by the Federal Government of Nigeria (Yusuf, 1998).

A skill-training program called SIWES is included in the basic academic requirements for the various degree and diploma programs at all Nigerian tertiary institutions (ITF, 2003). In Nigerian tertiary institutions, it aims to close the gap between theory and practice in science and technology programs (Industrial Training Division, 1998). It aims to familiarize students with the working environment, tools, and professional procedures and skills needed for a prosperous working life. The oldest and most widely acknowledged goals of vocational education, according to Oladeji (2000), were to provide a way to meet the demand for trained labor in society. Recognizing that skilled individuals are necessary for the survival of the country’s, the school’s, and, in fact, all institutions of society, is important. Oladeji (2000) claims that SIWES is comparable to skill-based training initiatives offered in both emerging and developed economies around the globe, including the US, UK, Germany, Finland, Malawi, Ethiopia, and Ghana. To close the gap between theory and practice that exists in Nigerian higher education programs, SIWES was founded. Aston and Green (1996), who claimed that one goal of industrial training in Ghana was to expose trainees to practical skills in their pertinent occupational fields and to familiarize them with the workings of new technologies, machines, and equipment that they had heard of and read about in books but had not had the opportunity to use, provided support for this claim. SIWES’s continued relevance to Nigeria’s current industrial development drive, however, is called into doubt by the overwhelming majority of participants’ inability to find employment after the program.

SITUATION OF THE PROBLEM

Before the Scheme was created, industrialists and other labor employers, according to Ojeleye (1994), were concerned that graduates from Nigerian institutions lacked the practical background studies necessary for employment in industry and other organizations. The employers came to the conclusion that the theoretical knowledge obtained at our higher education institutions was not pertinent to the needs of labor employers as a result. The Industrial Training Funds ITF’s argument for founding and creating the plan in 1973 is as a result. However, it is concerning that the program has not met its goals due to a number of factors, including structural reasons for the system’s performance issues, an increase in the number of students and institutions, which puts an undue burden on the few remaining industrial organizations, and the majority of students who choose to attach in convenient locations without considering how the workplace relates to their course of study (ITF Industrial Training). Furthermore, due to a lack of work experience earned throughout their academic years through the SIWES program, most graduates find it difficult to find direct employment in respectable industrial companies and frequently struggle to be successful in self-employment. This is counter to how the program is supposed to be implemented (Yabani, 1980). This has had a severe negative impact on the caliber and ability of students produced by our various higher education institutions. These studies aim to identify the variables influencing the students industrial working experience scheme (siwes) at Nigerian Tertiary Institutions in light of the aforementioned issues.

1.3 STUDY’S OBJECTIVES

This study’s main goal is to evaluate the variables influencing the students industrial working experience scheme (siwes) in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The following are additional study goals:

The effects of SIWES on students (part a)

b) List the elements that have an impact on SIWES in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

c) To learn about the difficulties students face when undergoing industrial training.

d) Offer potential answers to the problems that have been discovered.

1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

These are the study’s primary research questions.

a) How do SIWES’ effects on students manifest themselves?

b) What aspects of SIWES in Nigerian tertiary institutions are influencing?

b) What difficulties do students face when undergoing industrial training?

d) What are the suggested potential answers to the problems that have been identified?

1.5 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER STUDIES

The government, the academic community, and the students will all greatly benefit from the research’s conclusions. Students who are currently enrolled in industrial training programs will also benefit from it because they will be aware of the difficulties and the effectiveness of SIWES. The industrial training fund will also gain greatly from it since they will be able to implement strict laws that will make industrial training efficient and advantageous for students, tertiary institutions, and society as a whole.

This work will be used as a reference point for future research.

1.6 THE STUDY’S SCOPE

The University of Calabar will be used as a case study in this investigation. A few chosen departments will be recruited as participants in this training. It will concentrate on how SIWES affects students and tertiary institutions, including its causes and difficulties.

Limitations of the study: 1.7

The results of this study can only be applied by the University of Calabar, thus other tertiary institutions cannot use them. During the course of this investigation, financial constraints were faced.

1.8 TERM DEFINITION

Factors are situations, facts, or forces that have an impact on outcomes.

Industrial training is a term used to describe a program that provides high-quality practical training within the allotted period.

Institutions that offer post-secondary education full-time, part-time, or online are referred to as tertiary institutions.