An assessment of the factors affecting implementation of vocational technical education programmes in higher institutions in Delta State, Nigeria

The study investigates the stakeholders’ views on factors affecting effective implementation of the Vocational Technical Education (VTE) programme in Delta State, Nigeria. The purpose of the VTE programme is to equip its recipients with knowledge and skills needed to function in the world of work to meet the needs of society. Literature has indicated a gap between the skills possessed by VTE graduates and those needed in the labour market, which is affecting the graduates’ service delivery. The study is therefore conducted to see how VTE trainees should be equipped with the skills required in the labour market, thereby bridging the existing skill gap. Mixed methods research was adopted in the investigation of the study. Interviews and questionnaires were used as instruments for data collection. The data collected from the 74 respondents of the study were thematically analysed using NVIVO. The findings reveal the factors affecting the delivery of the programme to include inadequate facilities, insufficient funds, poor planning and implementation, misconception, inadequate curriculum, inadequate training and retraining of instructors, misconception of the programme by the members of the society and low enrolment. The factors were perceived by the respondents of the study to be affecting the performance of the graduates of the programme. The study concluded with a suggested adoption of the integration of the practical training of the trainees in the industries with their theoretical training in their various institutions, diversification of sources of funding, involvement of stakeholders in the monitoring and supervision of the programme implementation, proposed designed model for effective delivery of the programme, and proposed extension of Prosser’s Sixteen Theorems to support the delivery of effective vocational technical education programmes.