Assessment of competencies and training needs of automobile mechanics in Jigawa state

Abstract

Land transport which comprises of automobile, railways and others are among the main mean of transportation in Nigeria since eighteenth century. Automobile as a mean of land transport carries more than eighty percent of the transportation sector in Nigeria. There are high and rapid technological advancements in the field of automobile which give birth to an area of specialization called autotronic. Today cars are equipped with electronic controls, actuators, sensors, navigation controls, intelligent controls and many more complex systems which make automobile industry the highest in technological development across the globe. The technical personnel that repair most of the vehicle in Nigeria are called roadside mechanics. These mechanics are more conversant with older model of vehicle, because they are manufactured, operated and controlled mechanically and majority of them are illiterate. Cars imported nowadays into the country are more electronically operated and controlled which make present roadside mechanics at a greater disadvantage stage. The rapid, complex and high technological development in automobile posed great challenges to Nigerian roadside mechanics due to their inability to repair majority of the latest cars imported into the country because they were equipped with electronic gadgets and intelligent controls. These problem need to be curtailed or completely eliminated, otherwise over two millions Nigerian roadside mechanics would be rendered jobless. Federal government in its effort to reduce the existing problem, introduces skills upgrade for these mechanics to make them relevant, efficient and effective in carrying out maintenance repair of the autotronic vehicle as for them to contribute towards the economic development of the country, by transporting people and goods, agricultural products, power generation and defense. But from the survey carried out it was discovered that the programme was not successful due to low literacy level, inability to read and interprete diagrams and sketches by the roadside mechanics. The research conducted revealed gap still exists between skills competencies needed and skills competencies acquired in carrying out efficient and effective maintenance repair on autotronic vehicle. It also shows over two million Nigerian roadside mechanics will be rendered unemployed as a result of this short coming. A questionnaire and oral interview were used as instrument for data collection; results obtained were analyzed and presented using percentage and frequency. Recommendations were given on how to address the problem.

Keywords: Autotronic, Roadside mechanic, Mechatronics, Skill and Repair