Studies conducted in the past indicated that, there exist a gap between what the industries want and what the respective institutions especially TVET institutions of higher learning produced due to near absence of employability skills. This is a report on the study of employability skills that TVET graduate aspiring to work in the construction industry should acquire. The study adopted mixed-methods design and the participants comprises of 439 construction industry practitioner with varying roles and years of experience. Questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data, while mean, standard deviation was used to analyze the quantitative data. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The findings of the study indicated that, personal qualities, teamwork skills, communication skills, problem solving skills, leadership skills, informational skills and technological skills were identified as essential skills TVET graduates are expected to possess to be able to work effectively in the construction industry.

PurposeFollowing the tenets of experiential learning theory (ELT) and social cognitive theory (SCT), this study aims to investigate the influence of higher technology education students' placement experiences (work-related learning by teaching practice [WLTP] and by industry attachment [WLIA]) on learning self-efficacy (LSE) and perceived employability skills (PES) (namely, perceived future network [PFN], perceived expected experiences [PEE]), perceived future personal characteristics (PFPC), perceived future labour market knowledge (PFLMK) and perceived future skills (PFS).Design/methodology/approachUsing two-wave surveys (T1 & T2), data were collected from technical education students (N = 257) in Nigerian universities. At T1, LSE and PES were measured, while WLTP, WLIA, LSE and PES were measured at T2. The repeated measure t-test, and structural equation modelling were applied for statistical analyses.FindingsThe authors found a significant increase in the students' LSE and PES from T1 to T2. Direct associations between WLTP, WLIA, LSE and PES were partly supported. Similarly, WLTP and WLIA have indirect relationships with PES via LSE. However, the result of the indirect effect is partly supported for WLTP and PES relations; but fully supported for WLIA and PES relations.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study is not an experimental design to absolutely justify causality, it has provided valuable empirical evidence that added to the extant literature on higher education students' work-related learning, learning ability and employability skills.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to explore the simultaneous influence of two aspects of students' work placement (WLTP and WLAI) on LSE and employability as well as the changes that occur after the placement.

The purpose of the study is to appraise the problems often encountered by undergraduate technology education students in other degree awarding institutions in north-eastern Nigeria. Three purposes, research question and hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The area of the study was North-eastern Nigeria and the population of the study comprises of 154 bachelor degree students in the two degreeawarding institutions offering technology education programme -Federal Colleges of Education (Technical) in Gombe and Potiskum. The entire population was used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The instrument has a reliability coefficient of 0.77. One hundred and forty three copies of the instrument were administered, but only 139 were properly filled and returned. Mean was used to analyze the data to answer the research questions, while z-Test was used to analyze the data for testing the three null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings from the study indicate that undergraduate technology education students in other degree awarding institutions are encountering admission, instruction, and examination-related challenges. It is therefore recommended among others that Other degree awarding institutions should organize orientation exercise for their newly admitted students; NUC should ensure that only institutions with adequate facilities are granted the approval to mount degree programmes in technology education; Universities should ensure that the degree results of their affiliate institutions are considered, approved, and released as quickly as possible; Universities should ensure that the graduates of their affiliate institutions are timely mobilized for the NYSC.

The study explored safety practices in technical school shops. The area of the study was North-Eastern Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and the population of the study comprises of 134 carpentry and joinery Teachers/Instructors, 97 workshop attendants and 783 Carpentry and Joinery Students from the 29 Technical Colleges thereby making a population size of 1014. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire on a five-point scale adapted from a previous study. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.78. Mean was used to analyze the research questions. Findings from the study indicated that safety practices around Technical School shop environment, and the observation of safety practices by workshop personnel were to a moderately extents. It was recommended among others that School administrators should organize periodic reorientation programmes for carpentry and joinery workshop personnel to reeducate them on the need to strictly comply with all the safety standards guiding carpentry and joinery workshop operations.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of the use of documentary videos in teaching setting-out in Nigerian secondary schools. One research question and one hypothesis guided the study. The study adopted Quasi-experimental research design. The population for the study was 16 ST 1 students from Government Technical Training School, Jalingo offering Building Construction subject. There was no sampling. The instrument for data collection was Setting-out Test (ST) developed by the researcher. The instrument was validated by three experts. Test re-test was used to establish the reliability of the instrument and a reliability coefficient of 0.83 and 0.87 was obtained for the traditional and documentary video teaching methods respectively. The ST 1 students were arranged in intact groups, A and B; treatment was given to the two groups. Group a students were taught using the traditional method while Group B students were taught using the documentary video. A Pre-Test and Post-test was administered on the two groups under examination condition. The data obtained were analyzed using mean, standard deviation for research question and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for the hypothesis. Findings from the study indicated that students taught Setting-out with documentary videos performed better than those taught with the traditional teaching method; and there was a significant difference in the performance of students taught Setting-out with documentary video and those taught with traditional teaching method. Based on the findings some recommendations were made