Assessment of Enrolment Factors in Technical Education: Implication on Graduate Employability

Abstract

The concern generated by the high rate of unemployment among graduates of tertiary institutions has reached a grievous level. This is borne out of the societal disdain for technical education programmes aimed at boosting the competency level of its recipients in both teaching, handling of tools and machines for gainful employment. Considering the dismal level of response to technical education programmes, this study assesses some factors related to enrolment in technical education programmes of Colleges of Education in southwestern Nigeria. Two research questions were drawn to guide the study. A total of 402 academic staff and students were used for the study. The students were randomly selected. A structured questionnaire was used for the data collection with a reliability coefficient of 0.97 using correlational analysis. Findings revealed that poor awareness, incentives, and inadequate facilities discourage and prevent people from enrolling in technical education. Thus, the place of both print and electronic media was stressed in sensitizing the general public about the importance of Technical Education in solving the problems confronting the Nigerian public.