An Assessment of Workshop Practices for Sustainable Youth Empowerment in Welding and Fabrication Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, Rivers State

Abstract

This study assessed workshop practices for sustainable youth empowerment in welding and fabrication small and medium scale enterprises in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, Rivers State. Specifically, this study sought to assess safety, facility maintenance and record keeping practices for sustainable youth empowerment in welding and fabrication small and medium scale enterprises in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, Rivers State. This study adopted descriptive survey design. The population of this study comprised 15 mechanical technology lecturers and 29 mechanical technology final year students in Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku which is the only tertiary institution in the study area. The population was manageable and was used for the study, therefore, there was no sampling method adopted. Three objectives were formulated, answered and tested at .05 level of significance. The instrument used for this study was a survey questionnaire. The instrument was face validated by two mechanical technology lecturers in Federal College of Education (Technical) Omoku and it was tested for reliability using Cronbach Alpha Reliability Coefficient method. A reliability value of .82 was obtained. Mean with Standard Deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test statistical tools was used to test the hypotheses. This study found among others that wearing safety equipment, assessing the functionality of tools before usage, Provision of waste bin to gather tiny scraps in the workshop, lubricating of engines parts and tools, keeping tools away from moist environment, taking record of tools used and scheduled of maintenance, among others are workshop practices for sustainable youth empowerment in welding and fabrication small and medium scale enterprises in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area. Therefore, it was recommended that local government leaders should as a matter of fact organize seminars for welding and fabrication artisans in the study area.