The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole has stated that the achievements recorded by the Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) is highly dependent on the quality of supervision given to the scheme at all levels as well as the diligent performance of the SIWES Directorate, College Representatives and Departmental Coordinators.
Making this observation at a 2-day “Step-Down Capacity-Building Training for Departmental SIWES Coordinators and College Representatives on Work-Based Learning, Job, Analysis and Career Placement”, Professor Oyewole, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development), Professor Felix Salako, called for better supervision and linkage between the University, industries and organisations where these students undergo their Industrial Training (IT) so that the ultimate goal of establishing SIWES to produce work-ready graduates would be achieved.
He added that the objectives of the scheme, which was applicable to the University include providing avenue for students in the University to acquire industrial skills and experience that are relevant to their courses of study, to provide students with an opportunity to apply acquired theoretical knowledge in real-work situations thereby bridging the gap between knowledge and practice and also to prepare students for the work situation they will be meeting during post-graduation.
Other objectives include exposing the students to work methods and techniques of handling equipment and machinery that may not be available in their institutions, to make the transition from school to the world of work a lot easier and to enhance students’ contacts and networking for post-qualification job placement by enlisting and strengthening employers’ involvement in the entire educational process of preparing University graduates adequately for employment. Describing SIWES as a planned and structured scheme with specific career objectives that are geared towards developing participants’ occupational competencies, the Vice-Chancellor added that it was part of the approved Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) for the SIWES-approved undergraduate degree programmes in Nigerian Universities.
Delivering a Keynote Address titled, “Institutional-Industrial Linkages: A Panacea to Acquisition of Relevant Production Skills and Quality Assurance in SIWES Supervision”, the Pioneer Director of SIWES of FUNAAB, Professor Chryss Onwuka, said proper involvement and supervision were essential for students to maximally benefit from the scheme. According to him, apart from ensuring that students get placement into industries that were relevant to their fields of study, SIWES managers were tasked to properly supervise students on industrial attachments by signing their log books, assess students’ performance and award grades in conjunction with their academic Departments.
Professor Onwuka, who was once a Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of FUNAAB, advocated for institutions to have Placement Desk Officers that will be charged with the sole responsibility of searching for job placement for trainees and maintain a data base for the organisation that would be updated regularly while officials of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and Departmental Heads could also be of immense assistance. He recommended that industries should be invited to establish micro-schemes of their production procedures on campuses as their contribution towards ensuring students’ training and development.
The Director of SIWES, Professor (Mrs.) Grace Sokoya, disclosed that the main mandate of the Directorate was to co-ordinate the acquisition of Relevant Production Skills by students during their IT period, in order to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge acquired in the classroom and actual practice in the industrial world. She added that the rationale behind the capacity building training was to address the challenge of untimely complication and submissions of students’ master and placement lists, reports, logbooks and corresponding forms, as well as complaints about modalities of students’ supervision.
The ITF Area Manager, Abeokuta Office, Mrs. Adesola Taiwo, commended the capacity development efforts of the Directorate and University, assuring that ITF would continue to be supportive of any initiative geared towards promoting effective management and coordination of SIWES activities.
