SKILLS NEEDED BY COMPUTER EDUCATION GRADUATES FOR SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYMENT IN ENUGU STATE: AN IMPLICATION FOR COUNSELLING.

Abstract

: The main purpose of the study was to ascertain the skills needed by Computer Education graduates for sustainable employment in Enugu State. Five research questions were formulated and guided the study, while five hypotheses were tested. Survey research design was used for the study. The population for the study was 100 which comprised 20 lecturers and 80 final year students in Department of Computer Education in the Federal and State universities in Enugu State. No sampling was made. A 50-item Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The instrument was face-validated by two experts in Science and Computer Education and an expert in Measurement and Evaluation, in the Department of Science and Computer Education, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha and an overall reliability index of  0.97 was obtained. The researcher administered the instrument by hand. The research questions were answered with mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested with t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for all the analyses.  The results of the analyses revealed among others, that all the items under modern communication skills, database management skills, adaptability skills, internet skills and creative skills were highly required by computer education graduates for sustainable employment in Enugu State. The null hypotheses tested showed no significant difference in the mean ratings of lecturers and students of computer education in the entire variable. Based on the findings, some implications were deducted and it was recommended among others, that the identified skills for sustainable employment should be integrated into the curriculum planners, lecturers should adopt the identified skills in teaching the students for easy transition and acquisition of the skills amongst the students and government and school administrator should promote the teaching of the identified skills to the students.