EMPLOYERS' ASSESSMENT OFADEQUACYOFOFFICE TECHNOLOGY A N D M A N A G E M E N T C U R R I C U L U M F O R G R A D U AT E S EMPLOYABILITYSKILLSACQUISITIONINNORTH-WESTNIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessment of adequacy of office technology and management curriculum relative
to employment requirements in North-West Nigeria was necessitated by the need to ensure
that the products perform satisfactorily in employment. Two research questions guided the
study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Ex-post facto and
survey research design were used forthe study. Population of 456 principal officers of public
and private establishments in North-West Nigeria wasstudied without sampling. Forty Nine
questionnaire items relating to adequacy of contents of Information and Communication
Technology and records management course units were developed and validated by panel of
experts. The internal consistency reliability co-efficient of the instrument was established
using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient and the overall reliability of the
instrument was established using K.R-20 formula. The internal consistency reliability coefficient obtained were 0.97 and 0.95respectively for the two clusters with the overall
reliability co-efficient of 0.96. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze data in
relation to the research questions while ztest was used to test the null hypotheses. The
findingsrevealed that Office Technology and Management curriculum was adequate forICT
and records management content for employability skills acquisition of the graduates.
Furthermore, the respondents differed significantly in their mean ratings of adequacy of
OTM curriculum on ICT and records management. Based on the above findings it is
recommended among others that employers of labour, particularly Federal and States
Department of Establishment and Training/Offices of Head of Service and Representatives
of private establishmentsshould be co-opted in the future reviewof OTM curriculum.