Information and communication technology in adult education as sin-qua-non for promoting employees’ skills and competencies in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Necessity as often said “is the mother of invention”. One of the most apparent trends affecting workplace is the advent of information and communication technology. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are electronic technologies used for information storage and retrieval. The body of evidence on the impact of ICTs on workforce such as improving employees’ skills and competencies is greater and more persuasive. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population covered 30 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ikorodu local government in Lagos State. Purposive and convenience sampling procedure were used to select the SMEs and the respondents. In all, a sample size of 280 from 20 enterprises comprising 20 entrepreneurs and 260 employees formed the sample size. Four research questions were developed and two hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance while a structured questionnaire titled “ICTs and Employees’ Skills and Competencies (ICTESACQ)” was used to collect data for the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics of regression analysis and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient. The results indicated that training and development programmes enhanced and predicted employees’ skills and competencies. The study also revealed the challenges faced by the employees in using ICT to work. Based on the findings, it was recommended that SMEs must give recognition to training and development of employees. Employees are also expected to be adequately skilled in ICT. The study concluded that for employees to enhance their skills and competencies in ICT, they need to imbibe the culture of training and retraining in updating and upgrading their current and future skills and capabilities.

Keywords: ICT, Skills, Competencies, SMEs, Training and Development programmes