DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
7.2 THE CONSTRUCTION OF EMPLOYABILITY BY THE FOUR STAKEHOLDERS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS
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at the following three skills: communication, problem-solving and mathematical literacy. The third interface was the policy-teacher interface, and it converged at analytical skills. Finally, the fourth interface was the policy-employer interface which converged, with variations at two skills: technical drawing and interpersonal and human relations.
The divergence amongst stakeholders in terms of skills required by Technical College (TC) graduates has a negative impact in TC graduates employability. Therefore, in the following section, I will discuss employability as constructed by the four
stakeholders in the study.
7.2 THE CONSTRUCTION OF EMPLOYABILITY BY THE FOUR
125 7.2.2 Employability as construed by Teachers
From the analysis of teachers‟ perceptions on employability skills needs of Technical College graduates in Chapter 5 of this study; it was revealed that both trade related (technical) and soft skills are needed to be actively employed. Trade related skills in building, electrical and mechanical, while the soft skills embrace writing, reading, self- reliance/entrepreneurship, communication, numerical/mathematical, problem-solving and thinking skills. The finding of this study is in agreement with Wickramasinghe and Perera (2010) who in their study noted that both technical and soft skills are necessary in the workplace. However, this study is not in agreement with Buntat, Jabor, Saud, Mansor and Mustaffa (2013) who argued that teachers of vocational institutions lacked the awareness of employability skills needs of graduates. Following the findings above, it is obvious that the teachers have the awareness of employability skills needs of these graduates but lack the skills to impart it. According to Majumdar (2011) the 21st century skills placed on student‟s demands a teacher who has the knowledge of imparting soft skills on TVET trainees who will thus apply same at the workplace. Nonetheless, it is worth noting, that the teachers have the knowledge that trainees of Technical Colleges require both technical and soft skills to be actively employed, but this knowledge is not recreated in these trainees. This and other factors contributed to what influenced the frail nature of interface formed in this study.
7.2.3 Employability as construed by Graduates
According to Mohamed and Hamzah (2013) the basic aim of TVET is to turn-out graduates who are knowledgeable and skilful in their area of specialisation and soft skills. Drawing from the findings of this study with respect to skills required from Technical College graduates for employability, the results revealed that their emphasis was on trade related skills which are technical only. This finding agrees with Kennedy (2012) whose study on block laying and concreting graduates proved that Technical College graduates only possessed trade related skills and lack soft skills. On the other hand, this finding disagrees with the findings of Caleb and Udofia (2013) and Mohamed and Hamzah (2013) whose studies highlighted that Technical College students in
electrical installation and maintenance in Akwa Ibom Nigeria and Vocational and Technical Education Institutions graduates in Malaysia possess both technical and soft
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skills needed to enter the workforce. It is obvious that no employer would want to venture into recruiting an unskilled person, as every firm tries to maximise their resources. Most graduates from skills training institutions in Malaysia fail to secure employment in the industry due to lack of required employability skills and skills mismatch (Ahmad Rizal Madar et al. as cited in Hanapi et al., 2014). All employers under study in this research stressed the need to equip Technical College graduates with both technical and soft skills. Idris and Rajuddin (2012) studied Technical College graduate employability skills needs in Kano State, Nigeria and found that Technical College graduates lacked the skills needed by employers. It is on the premise that graduates must be equipped beyond technical skills that the Employers Association of Australia called on institutions of education and training to design a curriculum that captures both technical and soft skills (Sheldon & Thornthwaite, 2005).
7.2.4 Employability as construed by Employers
Some of the soft skills highlighted by employers in this study as paramount to their establishments include administrative, public relations, teamwork, interpersonal, and communication skills. Others include: reading, willingness to learn, mathematical literacy, ability to work with less supervision, quick adaptation and creativity/innovative skills. This is in consonance with Lowden, Hall, Elliot and Lewin (2011) who stressed that employers lay more emphasis on such skills as teamwork, interpersonal,
communication, mathematical literacy and ability to work alone with one‟s initiative.
Harvey as cited in Oresanya, Omodewu, Kolade and Fashedemi (2014) agrees with this when he affirmed that employers are in dire need of such skills as communication, creativity/innovative, interpersonal, adaptability/flexibility among others.
From the foregoing, it is evident that Technical College graduates do not possess the relevant skills required by employers to be industry relevant as perceived by employers in this study. This finding is in agreement with Ransul and Mansor (2013);
who in bench-marking employability skills need of graduates from manufacturing employers in Malaysia highlighted seven key skills; time and material management skills, numeric skills, personal attributes, interpersonal skills, creative and innovative thinking skills, technology application and informational skills. Also in consonance with this study is the finding of the Academy for Education Development. The study which sought the employability skills need of Technical College graduates highlighted
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the following; team work, personal management, ability to identify and apply right solution to a problem, thinking skills, among others (AED, 2008). The finding of this study is supported by an online poll in Pakistan on the relevance of TVET programmes to industrial required skills. The pool showed that TVET programme did not meet industry expectation, thus showed a mismatch between skills acquired and skills required (Reliance Services, 2012). However, according to Reliance Services (2012) TVET was considered a potential tool for employment.
From the discussions above on the construction of employability by all four stakeholders, it is worth noting that the TC graduates only depend on their trade related skills for employability, this indicates the lack of awareness amongst these graduates on the skills required from them by the industry. What this implies is that Government Technical College Ahoada does not have the capacity to prepare its graduates to meet the skills required in the industry. This remark corroborates Omede (2012) who submits that the present educational system in Nigeria is not responsive to industrial and societal needs. Therefore, the next section presents the discussion on the silent voices of
graduates.