Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences: Home

Article Title:
Industrial Management Trainee Program Cost: Imperative for Strategic Relationship between Industries and Higher Education Institutions in Nigeria
by Ahunanya Stella; Okpara Enyinna and Uche, Chineze M.

Abstract:
The deficiency in the human capital development program of Nigerian higher education institutions (HEIs) has resulted in competency gap between skills and abilities acquired by the graduates and industrial needs. This has made Nigerian industries to restructure their Management Trainee Program (MTP) with increased financial expenditure in retraining the new graduates to close the gap. Using a case study research design with purposive sampling of an industry and a higher education institution, an analysis of the financial expenditure of the MTP was made and compared to the social and private cost of education of a Nigerian engineering student in Lagos State resulting in a significance difference in the cost of retraining graduates and training of engineering students. Among the recommendations is that industries could invest such monies through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) functions with the HEIs so that the competency gap could be narrowed to a minimal extent.

Keywords: human capital, management trainee program, competency gap, training and retraining and corporate social responsibility.

Download full paper