TVET PARTNERSHIP AND PROFITABILITY OF SMALL SCALE BUSINESS IN AKWA IBOM STATE; A PANACEA FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the influence of TVET Partnership on Profitability of Small Scale Businesses in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses were raised to guide the study. An experimental design was adopted for the study. The researcher structured questionnaire titled: TVET Partnership and Profitability Questionnaires” (TVEPPQ) and the financial statements of the firms were used to generate data for the study. A simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 150 small scale business operators in Akwa Ibom State. Test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the study with r-values of 85. and .87 respectively. Mean and Standard Deviation were used to answer the research questions while the independent t-test was used to test the null hypotheses. It was discovered that firms who combine the skills of personnels from various areas of Vocational Education do perform significantly in the areas of profitability, customers patronage and investments than firms pooling all their human resources from a specialized area of TVET. It was recommended among others that small scale firms should organize their core human resources to reflect the core areas of TVET for improved performance and productivity.