EFFECT OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING SCHEME ON THE TRAINING OF OFFICE MANAGERS IN SELECTED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background to the Study

Industrial Training is the training given to the students in tertiary institution in order to know the responsibilities of human resources development and how they will tackle their work/job after their school career. The Industrial Training Funds was set up by (SIWES) Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme programme to help students in tertiary institutions especially those offering practical courses such as Office Technology and Management students, Art and Applied Sciences, Engineering students etc. to achieve their required training skills for their professions. This programme has brought about many positive effects on the students.  As the manager’s job is to provide service to the general public, industrial training helps to expose managers to industrial behaviour in order to improve on practical aspect of their course.  According to Okafor (1993), this type of experience would expose students to the world of work and help them remedy the deficiencies of the classroom in terms of its practical components.

Thus, the Industrial Training Fund programs help Office Managers to perfect in their profession.  For instance, some courses in Office Technology and Management line is Office Management System, Office Practice, Principle of Law, Advance Transcription, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Human Capital Management etc. are being taught theoretical in school. In Polytechnics, Office Managers due go to four months Industrial Training (IT), in their first year, in second year another one year Industrial Training making them acquire the necessary skills to perfect in their course of study. Students experience during the course of their training will definitely help them to carry out their managerial work effectively provided that the programme of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) is a continuous process.  The experiences gotten by students is a good tool that responds to a certain basic aspect of the students fullest development in the Office Management and Technology course making them acquire the necessary skills.

The most serious problem facing the students before the introduction of the Industrial Training (IT) is unemployment.  Many of them do not possess the relevant and employable skills needed by employers, students are being faced with the problem of acquiring the needed practical knowledge.  Thereby, making the students to imagine everything that are being taught.  But the introduction of this IT programme has helped Office Managers to perform well, especially in getting direct contact with some of the new office gazettes that have been taught theoretically in school. The SIWES objectives is to help students to find solution to the problem of unemployment, to take their steps in the journey through their life career with pleasure, confidence, and to prepare students for the world. Taylor (1983) had concluded that students who have benefited from SIWES opportunities pass on to the next level and are ready to accept any challenges of learning skills in their career.  For this reasons the potential managers that went through the industrial training fund programme benefited from many effects needed for their experiences and exposure.

1.2    Statement of the Problem

The management problem of the industrial training is on how to achieve the organization goal.  And the effort of well trained managers as Folayan (1998) stated is a sine quo non for the achievement of the organizational corporate goal. Before the introduction of Industrial Training Scheme, the Office Manager’s attitude and performance in school and outside school was very discouraging. The Federal Military Government introduced this programme (IT) to guide and direct the Office Manager’s learning so that they will carry out their work/job effectively and accurately. Atuenyi (1995), pointed out that “Office Managers need urgent training right from their year one in higher institution in order to meet up with the information technology demand in any organization”. Another problem bordering on this is the problem of how often the supervision staff in Industrial Training Fund (ITF) visits the students on attachment and allowance paid to students on attachment.

1.3    Objective of the Study

The objective of the study is to find out the effect of Industrial Training Scheme on the training of Office Managers.

Specifically, the study sought to:

1. Identify the aims and objectives of the Industrial Training.

2. Find out the benefits that the entire students derive from Industrial Training (IT) Scheme.

3.  Examine the causes of the poor implementation of the programme.

4. Examine the remedies to the poor implementation of the programme.

1.4    Research Questions

This study sought answers to the following research questions.

1. What are the aims and objectives of the Industrial Training?

2. What are the benefits derivable by students from the Industrial Training Scheme?

3. What are the causes of poor implementation of the programme?

4. What are the remedies to the poor implementation of the programme?

1.5    Research Hypothesis

To guide the study, the following hypothesis has been formulated to enhance authentication of the subject matter.

Ho:    Industrial Training Scheme has no effect on the training of

Office Managers in selected tertiary institution in South-East zone of Nigeria.

H1:    Industrial Training Scheme has effect on the training of

Office Managers in selected tertiary institution in South-East zone of Nigeria.

1.6    Significance of the Study

The study of the effect of industrial training scheme on the training of managers will help the students to achieve the practical aspect of learning, which will help them to perfect in the theoretical training. The industrial training will help the students to be more committed to the programme instead of relaxing and forge industrial training letters from any company, since they have known the importance of the programme. It helps the SIWES workers to be more committed to their work by making it compulsory for the students to acquire the necessary practical knowledge and experience required from them during the training period. The study in this training will help students to be cost conscious when dealing with customers or when using companies stationeries in their work place. The study will also help to create awareness to the public especially government establishments on the importance of the training so that the industrial workers will be accepted.

1.7    Scope of the Study

The scope of the study is strictly on the effect of industrial training scheme on the training of Office Managers.  It focused on the aim and objective of industrial training scheme towards the students that are offering practical courses in tertiary institutions, especially in the training of Office Managers. To evaluate the benefits that the students derive and to find out the problems and solutions towards the training