TECHNICAL WORK SKILLS REQUIRED BY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (TECHNICAL) GRADUATES FOR SELF EMPLOYMENT IN PLASTIC PRODUCTION INDUSTRIES IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study was carried out to identify technical work skills required by College of Education (Technical) graduates for self employment in plastic production industries in Rivers State while six research questions were posed and answered by the study, six null hypotheses were formulated and tested at p≤0.05 level of significance. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and was carried out in Rivers State, Nigeria. The population for the study consists 104 respondents which include twenty eight (28) lecturers in Technical Education and seventy six (76) technicians in the five plastic industries in Rivers State. Due to manageable size of the population, the entire 104 lecturers and technicians were involved. Therefore, there was no sampling for the study. The instrument used for data collection is 157-item structured questionnaire titled “Required Plastic Work-skill Questionnaire RPWSQ”. The instrument was subjected to face-validation by three experts. The validates’ suggestions and inputs were taken into consideration in developing the final draft of the questionnaire that was used for data collection. To test for internal consistency of the instrument, Cronbach alpha reliability technique was employed, to obtain reliability coefficient of 0.84 for compounding plastic material, 0.81 for moulding plastic, 0.76 for reinforcing plastic, 0.83 for joining plastic, 0.69 for machining plastic products and 0.75 decorating plastic products. The overall reliability coefficient of 0.79 was obtained for the entire instrument. The data for the study were collected by the researcher with the help of four research assistants. Out of the 104 copies of the questionnaire administered, 101 copies were duly completed and retrieved representing 97% return rate. The data collected were analyzed using mean to answer the research questions and t-test for testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the data collected and analysed, the study identified 52 technical work-skill items very highly required and 105 technical work-skill items highly required by college of education graduates in plastic production for self employment in plastic industry in Rivers State. On the hypotheses tested, the study found that there was no significant difference in the mean ratings of the responses of lecturers and plastic technicians on the technical work-skills required by technical education graduates for self employment in plastic industry in Rivers State. Based on the findings of the study, the study among others recommended that all the identified technical work-skills be used for improving the existing curriculum of technical programmes of Colleges of Education and Universities with technical education programme in the country, and that all the identified technical work-skills in plastic production be integrated into the programmes of skill acquisition centres in the state to take care of skill needs of the vulnerable youths and other groups with desire for salable skills for work in the area.

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

        The quality of education and training given to youths depend greatly on the ability of the institution to adjust their educational course content to the changing skill requirement of the nation. According to Manyindo (1995) educational institutions such as Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education are expected to provide knowledge and training that satisfy the human resources demand of the nation.

College of Education according to Federal Government of Nigeria (2004) is one of the tertiary institutions that provide knowledge, skills and training to students for the production of teachers and skilled personnels who shall be enterprising and self-reliant.  The goals of College of Education Technical as stated in the National Policy on Education (2004) include: to encourage further the spirit of enquiry and creativity in teachers, to provided teachers with the intellectual and professional background adequate for their assignment and make them adaptable to changing situations, to provide the technical knowledge and skills necessary for agricultural, industrial, commercial, economic, and educational development of Nigeria, to give training and impart the necessary skills for the production of technicians, technologists and other skilled personnel who shall be enterprising and self-reliant.

The National Policy on Education (2004), when further to state that at the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) and degree levels, education programmes shall continue to be expanded to also cater for the requirements of technical, business and special education. It is on this statement, that the system of education made far reaching innovative changes for all level of education. These changes are in two broad areas as follows:  widening of the curriculum to bring in more subjects that are relevant to the stated national objectives (Basic Technology is one of the subjects among others); and deepening the subject contents (Okeke, 1995).

Basic Technology is a prevocational subject which is supposed to provide students with a process orientation in production and consumption through experiences in producing and servicing industrial goods which plastic production is among. Other are metals, woods, ceramics, glasses and rubbers. The graduates of college of education technical are the technical teachers who are to inculcate the learning processes, involving technical work skills (practical oriented) to meet the objective of teaching Basic Technology in the Basic secondary schools according to Ivowi (1981) are to provide students with the technological literacy required for everyday living and to provide vocational/technical orientation for further development of employable skills and training in technology.

The ineffectiveness of the colleges of education graduates to identify the technical work skill required to produce plastic for self employment, has been attributed to the inability of the students to identify the raw material of plastic and its opportunity to create wealth. The graduates ability and knowledge of the required technical work skill in plastic production for self employment will help him or her select learning experiences capable of developing in the students, skills, abilities, understanding, habit, attitude and appreciation which they will need to meaningfully enter and progress in self employment in plastic production. Where the technical graduates lacks the technical work skill required for plastic production, the students are likely to become ill-equipped for self employment in plastic production. The technical work skills required by College of Education graduates in plastic production for self employment represent that existing gap between the teacher’s expected capability and their actual performance in the plastic production. This study is aimed at identifying the technical work skill required by College of Education Technical graduates for self employment in plastic production in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Self-employment is working for oneself as a freelance or the owner of a business rather than for an employer, Okeke (1995). In the absence or lack of teaching opportunity, graduates of College of Education with the required technical work skill will surely be self-employed like production of polyethylene bag and sachet water bag for his/her livelihood. College of Education Technical prepares the graduates for dual purposes, either as a teacher or as skilled personnel who shall be enterprising and self-reliant. It is on this bedrock that the researcher deems it fit to identify the technical work skills required for self-employment in plastic production for College of Education Technical graduates. Technical courses offered in College of Education Technical among others include building science and material technology which covers woods, metals, ceramics, glasses, rubbers and plastic production, according to the minimum standard of National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE, 2009).

Stephen (1996) said that, plastics are polymers. The simplest definition of a polymer is something made of many units. Think of a polymer as a chain. Each link of the chain is the basic unit that is usually made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and/or silicon. To make the chain, many links or polymers are hooked or polymerized together. Polymers have been with us since the beginning of time. Natural polymers include such things as tar and shellac, as well as tree saps that produce amber and latex. These polymers were processed with heat and pressure into useful products like hair ornaments and adornments. Natural polymers began to be chemically modified during the 1 800s to produce many materials.

The most famous of these were vulcanized rubber, gun cotton and celluloid. The first truly synthetic polymer produced was Bakelite in 1909 and was soon followed by the first synthetic fiber, rayon, which was developed in 1911. Thompson, Swan, Moore, and vomSaal (2009), said that a plastic is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solid that are moldable. A plastic is any organic material containing a synthetic high polymer as the major constituents; polymer being material of high molecular weight formed by joining together many (poly) small molecule that can be easily molded or shaped by mechanical or chemical action to give non crystalline substance that are solid at ordinary temperature (Jain, 2010). Plastics are material made up of long-chain molecules based on carbon and hydrogen. According to Katchy (2008), there are two types of plastic materials: thermoplastic materials and thermoset materials.

Thermoplastics as described by the author are plastics materials that do not undergo chemical change in their composition when heated and can be molded again and again while thermoset are plastics that undergoes chemical reaction that is irreversible. A wide variety of processing method are employed to convert raw polymer or raw plastic to finish or semi-finished products. These methods are extrusion, injection, thermoforming, rotational, compression, casting, transfer and blow methods (Martins and De Paoli, 2005). These moulding methods usually involve a combination of heating, flowing, shaping and cooling. Heating melts thermoplastic materials so that it can flow and while still under pressure it is forced through a die or a mould to produce the desired shape.

Thermoset material once formed or cured become infusible insoluble and rigid and cannot be softened again by heating. Therefore, curing and shaping proceed simultaneously in plastic production. Production centre on effort made by man to make something or object to satisfy human wants and needs. Abedi (2005) affirmed that production primarily involves manufacturing of goods or extraction of raw materials to make a product. In the view of Olaitan (1996), production is the process of changing or transforming input (raw material) into output (product). In the context of this study therefore, plastic production involves all technical efforts that deal with the combination of raw material (polymer) in form of powder, granules, pellet or chip and additive in various forms for making the final product (plastic) and being self-employed in plastic production.

Plastic production like any other industrial activities involves some set of tasks and technical work skills (Smith, 2007). Major tasks in plastic production according to Crawford (1998), include compounding, moulding, reinforcing, joining, machining and decorating of plastic products. These specific task areas in plastic production are performed with technical work skills for task to be completed.

Compounding of plastic is the first task encounter during plastic production. This is the process of selecting and incorporating additives with raw polymer (Scholz, 2007). Moulding is the second task for plastic production. Moulding comprises of variety of processing methods to convert compounded material to finished or semi-finished products (Potente and Becker, 1999). These methods include extrusion, injection, rotational and others. Reinforcing means the combination of two materials differing in composition that is, the plastic material as the matrix (base polymer) and reinforcement material such as glass, carbon, asbestoes or synthetic and natural fibres (Radenkov, Toplijska &  Radenkov, 2000). Joining of plastics materials involves, plastics sheets, rods or preformed components are joined to similar or dissimilar materials to form or repair the finished product (Su & Lin, 2005). Machining is the further operations such as turning, drilling, sawing, threading, grinding, milling and planning done on a plastic work piece to get the finished product (Kobayashi, 2011). Decorating of plastic are done for various reasons such as identification, to aid product sale, aesthetic appeal and improved resistance to wear, scratching, chemical or atmospheric exposure. Decorating of plastic are forms of surface marking (Kalpakjian & Schmid, 2006).

These tasks are accomplished through technical work skills for operation. Technical work skill according to Okorie (2000) is a habit of acting, thinking and behaving in a specific activity in such a way that the process becomes natural to the individual through practice. In the view of Osinem and Nwoji (2005) technical work skill is the ability to perform an activity expertly. The authors further added that skill is a well established habit of doing things and involves the acquisition of performance capability through repetitive performance of an operation. Technical work skill as described by Hull (1991) is the habit of doing something well, especially skill gained through training or experience. Onuka (2003) stated that skill is the capacity, technique or ability to do something well. In the view of Osuala (2004), technical work skills are referred to the ability to apply knowledge and the use of know-how to complete tasks and solve problems. Technical work skills are usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities, which are often thought of as innate. Nkokelonye (2008) described skill as cognitive when it involves the use of logical intuitive and creative thinking and practical when it involves manual dexterity and the use of methods, materials, tools and instruments. Both the cognitive skill and practical skill constitute the technical work skills required by college of education graduates for paid job in plastic production on graduation.

Technical work skills according to Okorie (2000) are the essential skills that enable people to perform tasks required by their occupation and other activities of daily life. Dole (2009), stated that technical work-skills are basic skills, cognitive abilities and personal qualities which a worker need to possess in order to succeed in career jobs. In the view of Olaitan, Nwachukwu, Igbo, Onyemachi and Ekong (1999), technical workskills are practical activities which can help an individual to acquire saleable skills. The authors maintained that technical work-skills entail a total array of responsibilities within a job. Technical work skills are those technical knowledge and abilities required for effective performance of college of education graduate in plastic production for self-employment. The individual capable of impacting the skills in plastic production are the technical teachers or skilled personnel in plastic industries and technical teachers in college of education where plastic production is taught as major aspect of building Science and material Technology. It is on this background that the researcher deemed it necessary to determine technical work skills required by College of Education (Technical) graduates for self-employment in plastic production in Rivers state, Nigeria.

Statement of the Problem

The Nigerian labour market requires workers with sound technological skill for transforming the nation’s economy with the ability to meet its immediate demand. The plastic sector is part of the strategic backbone of Nigerian economy. Other industrial sectors such as automobile, electronic, construction, processing and packaging, all depend heavily on plastic industry to be competitive (Yinnon, 1995). Despite the potential of plastics industry in job creation in Nigeria and Rivers State in particular, the advantage is not well employed by the teaming youths for gainful employment, rather the youths including college of education graduates hold the oil and service industries at ransom, asking for compensation (money) for making use of their natural resources.  The refusal of the oil and service industries to comply, made the youths to destroy some of the properties and lives of the personnel causing unrest to the people of Rivers State.

The youths, graduates inclusive make high demands of their benefits from the oil and servicing companies causing the folding of some companies in the State. Such companies are Hillstorm oil and gas industry, Ziggot oil industry and others. The hostile way the youths attack the oil and service industries are by burning their cars, machines and offices, causing of road block. The affected companies leave the state and relocate to another state, leading to unemployment in the state and unrestive action among the youth.

Also, teaching of the elementary parts of plastic production in Basic technology is not in-depth like that of metals which comprises identification of metals to the finished parts of metals, hand tools, machine tools and others. As the foundation for learning any technical course starts from the basic class, tools used for plastic production are supposed to be identification, the raw plastic processes and tools used for plastic production are supposed to be inculcated into the basic scheme of work on basic technology to go in line with the other classes of material technology such as metal, wood, ceramic and others.

More also, the identification of woods to the production of wood products is also found in the scheme of basic technology whereas that of plastic is not there, rather what is found is just the mention of plastic as one of the technological material and the processes or technical work skills required are not explained to the students because the teacher will only give what he/she have.  This aspect of the scheme of work on basic technology helps the students to be able to identify metals, wood and other technological materials and explain their various types and uses, whereas in the case of plastic students cannot identify the raw plastic and do not know the type of tools used for processing of plastic raw material to the finished stage.

This has worsened the unemployment situation among the youths including graduates of Colleges of Education in the study area. The present ordeal of high rate of unemployment among graduates in the study area has further aggravated cases of crime such as hostage taking, kidnapping, oil bunkering, child trafficking and armed robbery to the detriment of the youth and the society at large. For instance, this situation has negatively affected socio economic development in the area.

Recognizing the economic implication of empowering youth with saleable technical work skills, the government of Rivers State has continued to extend incentives to skill acquisition centres for equipping youth with vocational skills. Plastic production, though very lucrative is a technical industrial operation that requires the keen application of the necessary technical work skills to produce plastic products to required standard and specification. The technical work skills in plastic production for self employment cut across the major tasks which include: compounding / blending, moulding, reinforcing, machining, joining and decorating finished plastic products.

In a world where unemployment among youth is increasing, wealth and employment creation have become a means of helping the youth and Nigerian graduates. This can only be ensured through the acquisition of relevant vocational skills such as plastic production for sustainable living. Considering the lucrative and employment creation potential of plastic industry, effort towards empowering the technical graduates with technical work skills in plastic production for economic survival is an effort in the right direction. It is on this bedrock that this study was embarked upon to identify technical work skills required by graduates of technical education for self-employment in plastic production in Rivers State.

Purpose of the Study

        The major purpose of this study was to determine Technical work skills required by College of Education (Technical) Graduates for self employment in Plastic Production Industries in Rivers State. Specifically, the study determined:

1. Technical Work-skills required by College of Education graduates in compounding raw plastic materials.
2. Technical work skills required by College of Education graduates in moulding melted plastic materials to desired shapes and forms.
3. Technical work skills required by College of Education graduates in reinforcing plastic material.
4. Technical work skills required by College of Education graduates in joining plastic materials.
5. Technical work skills required by College of Education graduates in machining plastic material.
6. Technical work skills required by College of Education graduates in decorating plastic material.

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study would be of immense benefit to administrators of Colleges of Education (Technical), technical education lecturers, graduates of technical education and students with bias in material technology, curriculum planners, parents, society and plastic industries.

The findings of the study would be of assistance to the administrators of Colleges of Education for enhancing and restructuring the resources and facilities towards effective teaching and learning of material technology through public awareness programme in the media houses with focus on plastic production technical work skills. The administrators of Colleges of Education would benefits from the findings of the study by identifying the correct technical work skill needed to be made available and materials for the teaching and learning of the technical work skill required in plastic production. Recognizing the relevance of plastic production technical work skill to gainful employment or self employment of the graduates of technical education will sensitize the school administrators to always recruit qualified manpower as lecturers for teaching technical courses in Colleges of Education.

The findings of the study would be of great benefit to technical education lecturers, by upgrading their technical work skills in plastic production because the world has passed the metal age now in plastic age.  The findings would help to fill in the gaps of their knowledge for quality teaching and self-employed in plastic production, in compounding, moulding, reinforcing, joining, machining and decorating of plastic. Technical students of Colleges of Education would benefit immensely from the findings of the study by being an eye opener to the world of plastic because the technical work skills will equip the students with saleable skills for self-employment in plastic production. The findings of the study would be beneficial to curriculum planners of Colleges of Education through its provision of relevant information for curriculum review and update to meet societal needs for work based technical education for job creation and poverty reduction among Nigerian technical education graduates.

Finally, the findings that will emanate from this study will help to provide useful research information to fellow researchers with keen interest in identification of technical work skill in plastic production towards addressing unemployment among Nigerian graduates.

Research Questions

The following research questions were answered by the study:

1. What are technical work-skills required by College of Education graduates in compounding raw plastic materials?
2. What are technical work-skills required by College of Education graduates in moulding molten plastic material to desired shapes and forms?
3. What are technical work-skills required by College of Education graduates in reinforcing plastic material?
4. What are technical work-skills required by College of Education graduates in joining plastic products?
5. What are technical work-skills required by College of Education graduates in machining plastic products?
6. What are technical work-skills required by College of Education graduates in decorating plastics products?

Hypotheses

        The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and were tested at p< 0.05 level of significance:

H0₁: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of technicians in plastic production and lecturers on technical work-skills required by College of Education (Technical) graduates in compounding plastic materials.

H0₂: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of technicians in plastic production and lecturers on technical work-skills required by College of Education (Technical) graduates in moulding plastic.

H0₃: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of technicians in plastic production and lecturers on technical work-skills required by College of Education (Technical) graduates in reinforcing plastic products.

H0₄: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of technicians in plastic production and lecturers on technical work-skills required by College of Education (Technical) graduates in joining plastic products.

H0₅: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of technicians in plastic production and lecturers on technical work-skills required by College of Education (Technical) graduates in machining of plastic.

H0₆: There is no significant difference between the mean responses of technicians in plastic production and lecturers on technical work-skills required by College of Education (Technical) graduates in decorating plastic products.

Delimitation of the Study

The study is delimited to technical work-skills required by college of education graduate in compounding/blending, moulding, reinforcing, joining/welding, machining and decorating plastic products. Geographically, the study is delimited to Colleges of Education in Rivers State, Nigeria. Technicians in plastic production industry and technical education lecturers in Colleges of Education in the study area constituted the respondents.