Re-engineering Apprenticeship Scheme for Economic Sustainability in Industrial Cities of South East of Nigeria: Post Civil War Experience

Abstract

The study examined apprenticeship scheme and economic sustainability in industrial areas of South East of Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to evaluate how apprenticeship scheme influenced employment generation after civil war in South East of Nigeria, identify problems affecting apprenticeship scheme and ascertain ways apprenticeship scheme could be re-engineered in the South-East of Nigeria. As a survey research design, questionnaire was used to elicit information from one hundred and forty business operators in Aba, Nnewi and Onitsha, as the industrial cities in South East before and after the civil war, who undergone apprenticeship scheme before establishing their own business. The data were analysed using mean, percentage and simple regression at 5% level of significance. The result revealed that Successful business start-up by apprentice generated employment for people over a long period of time in the South East after civil war. Apprenticeship scheme in the recent times lacked; involvement of labour representative in the apprenticeship agreement, written agreement under the watch of a labour officer; and opportunity to further education as well as apprentice physiological and social well being. The study concluded that apprenticeship scheme provided employment after civil war in South East of Nigeria over a long period of time; notwithstanding, apprenticeship scheme faces a lot of problems in the recent times. Thus, to re-engineer apprenticeship scheme in South East, the study recommended that labour laws that would persecute the defaulting master(s) or servant(s) in the contract of apprenticeship scheme have to be established, apprentices have to be given educational opportunity while in apprenticeship scheme; and apprenticeship scheme has to be covered with an effective contract agreement under the supervision of a labour officer.