SOURCE:

Faculty: Education
Department: Vocational Education

CONTRIBUTORS:

Iro, D. M.
Okoye, K.R.E.

ABSTRACT:

The study on employers’ assessment of adequacy of office technology and management curriculum for graduates’ employability skills acquisition in North-West Nigeria was necessitated by the need to ensure that the products perform satisfactorily in employment. Five research questions guided the study and ten null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Ex-post facto and survey research design were used for the study. Population of 456 principal officers of public and private establishments in North-West Nigeria was studied without sampling. Ninety-three questionnaire items relating to adequacy of contents of ICT, shorthand, keyboarding, records management and communication skills course units were developed and validated by panel of experts. The internal consistency reliability coefficient of the instrument of 0.82 was obtained using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Mean ratings and standard deviation were used to analyse data in relation to the research questions, and z–Test was used to test the null hypotheses. The results of the analyses revealed that OTM curriculum was adequate for ICT and communication skills and inadequate for shorthand, keyboarding and records management. Hypotheses 1, 2,7,8,9 and 10 were rejected while hypotheses 3, 4, 5 and 6 were not rejected. Based on the above findings it is recommended among others that employers of labour, particularly Federal and States Department of Establishment and Training/Offices of Head of Service and Representatives of private establishments should be co-opted in the future review of OTM curriculum. NBTE, after one and a half decade, should consider reviewing the OTM curriculum so as to cope with the needs of employers of labour.