Employers' Assessment of Mass Communication Graduates of Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics

Abstract

This is the report of a TETFUNDsponsored national survey aimed at ascertaining the  assessment of Nigerian universities and polytechnics mass communication  graduates by the managers of the organizations that employ them. The survey  became necessary to update extant literature and to test the hunch that the present journalism/mass communication curricula of Nigerian institutions may not be  meeting the needs of the everchanging world of work in this knowledge-driven  dispensation. Forty organizations employing Mass Communication graduates were selected by quota sampling technique, to include newspapers, magazines, radio,  television, public relations, and advertising agencies; and managers working directly  with the graduates were asked to fill a questionnaire. The findings of the  survey, conducted in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, show deficiencies in  critical competences such as writing ability, critical thinking, numeracy, as well as computer and internet savvy. The findings also suggest that Polytechnic graduates  may be serving the needs of the industry better than their University counterparts.  This paper therefore suggests areas of improvement to meet the demands of the  changing times.