Joseph Ojishe Ogar & Blessing Emmanuel Ndem
Abstract
This research examined perceptions on vocational education as a tool for addressing unemployment for self-reliance in Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study. Survey research design was adopted. The population of the study comprised of all the 476 lecturers in the Faculty of Education, University of Calabar. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 46.5% resulting to 221 respondents. The instrument for data collection was a modified four point likert scale questionnaire titled: Vocational Training and Self-Reliance Questionnaire (VTSRQ). The reliability estimates obtained using Cronbach alpha reliability were 0.76 to 0.89. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to answer research questions. Findings revealed that vocational training has the capability of equipping students and graduates with skills, including carpentry, shoe making skills among others, to reduce unemployment. Findings also indicate the challenges of vocational skill acquisition to include inadequate funding, poor interest by students and graduates, lack of sponsorship, among others. It was recommended that students and graduates should be encouraged and sponsored to partake in vocational training so as to create jobs for themselves and to be self-reliant.