WORK SKILLS REQUIRED BY SECONDARY SCHOOL GRADUATES IN SUGARCANE PRODUCTION ENTERPRISES FOR ECONOMIC SECURITY IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study identified work skills required by Secondary School graduates in sugarcane production enterprises in Kwara State, Nigeria. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The sample population for this study was 200 respondents consisted of 158 sugarcane farmers, 19 agricultural science teachers and 23 extension agents which were purposively selected for the study. A 37-item questionnaire titled Work Skills Required in Sugarcane Production Questionnaire (WSRSPQ) was used to obtain data from respondents. The questionnaire items were validated by three experts. Cronbach Alpha Method was used to determine the internal consistency of the items and a reliability coefficient of 0.79 was obtained. The data collected were analyzed using mean to answer the questions while ANOVA statistics was used to test the null hypotheses. The finding of the study revealed that graduates required all the work skills in planning, pre-planting, post planting and harvesting and marketing operations. There was no significant difference in the mean ratings of respondents on the work skills required in planning, pre-planting and planting, post planting, harvesting and marketing operations in sugarcane production. The study recommended, among others, that extension agents should harness the work skills items identified by the study and incorporate them into training programmes for training secondary school graduates and other youths to make them economically secure through sugarcane production.