Inclusive Skills in Electrical Electronic Technology for Sustainable Workforce in Knowledge-Based Economy in Rivers State

Abstract

The study investigated into the relevance of inclusive skills in electrical electronic technology for sustainable workforce in knowledge-based economy in rivers state. Two purposes, research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted survey research design. The study was carried out in the 2 state owned tertiary institutions. The population of this study consists of 24 respondents. This includes: 18 lecturers, and 6 technologist in electrical electronics technology. The instrument was a structured questionnaire. The instrument was structured on a 5- point Likert scale response of Strongly Agree (SA)=5, Agree (A)=4, Undecided (U)=3, Disagree (D)=2 and Strongly Disagree (SD)=1 respectively. Cronbach Alpha technique, the reliability coefficient (r) was found to be 0.89.  Specifically, the research questions were analyzed using mean values. Any mean value of 3.00 and above was accepted while any with mean below 3.00 was rejected. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test statistical tool. The findings of the study showed that inclusive skills and knowledge-based economy can afford students additional skills that will provide employment opportunity and national growth. The findings further showed that the items on features of knowledge-based economy needed for sustainable industrial growths in Rivers State are vital. The following recommendations were made:(1) Tertiary institutions in Rivers State should synergise with industries to provide inclusive skills and (2) Tertiary institutions in Rivers State imbibe on knowledge-based economy for self-sustainable employment.