Abstract:
The study was conducted on welding and fabrication skills for employment in Rivers state. A survey research design was adopted, the respondents for the study consist of 15 teachers of metalwork technology department in government technical colleges and 20 welders, making a total population 35. A structured questionnaire with six sections (A-F) was used as instrument for data collection comprising 60 items. The instrument was pilot tested on 15 respondents who were not part of the sample for the study after being subjected to face validation by three experts. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was calculated to be 0.85. Five research questions and five null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The mean scores were used to answer the research question while t-test statistics were employed to test the hypotheses. Among other findings skills in gas welding can provide employment for the unemployed, forge welding skills when acquired will be able to secure employment for individuals, skills in resistance welding can also provide employment opportunity individuals, arc welding skills guarantees the individual employment opportunity either in the companies or self employed and under water skills in an individual can provide good employment opportunities for the individual. Based on these findings recommendations were made among others that government should establish training centres in the area of skill required e.g. the underwater welding, skilled and qualified welding and fabrication teachers should be employed to give the real skill to students, schools should liaise with companies on practical training for the students needed skills by the companies around should always be identified and such skill area should be immediately be given to the youths in training, underwater welding should be introduced into the curriculum of metal work technology and government should equip metal work department with modern equipment and facilities for training and acquisition of skills. Suggestion were also made for further study.
