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THE STUDENTS’ INDUSTRIAL WORK-EXPERIENCE SCHEME

THE STUDENTS’ INDUSTRIAL WORK-EXPERIENCE SCHEME

As earlier stated, there are different forms of Cooperative Education around the world, all emanating from the innovation of Herman Schneider in 1906.
In Nigeria, the current form of Cooperative Education is known as the Students’ Industrial Work-Experience Scheme (SIWES).
Often, students mistakenly and commonly refer to “SIWES” as “I.T”; whereas industrial training is generic while SIWES is a specific form of Cooperative Education or industrial training operated in Nigeria.

Antecedents of SIWES
Following the discontinuation of the system of sponsorship of students by employers at the Yaba Technical Institute and the emergence of other higher institutions offering science, engineering and
technology programmes, there was no organised industrial training in Nigeria. Only those students who engaged in holiday jobs in areas relevant to their courses of study could be said to have had some form of work-experience or industrial training while others did not.

The situation led to a spate of criticisms of SET graduates from Nigerian institutions as lacking practical skills in general and, in particular, the relevant production skills needed by industry. Consequently, some higher institutions introduced the Student Work-Experience Programme (SWEP) to enrich the curricula of engineering courses (Uvah, 2004). SWEP was designed to enable students understand the practical applications of the basic principles underlying the traditional engineering programmes (Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering).

SWEP was conducted during the long vacation in the institutional workshops under simulated industrial conditions for 200 Level students of universities who have just been introduced to engineering and technology courses. Students were allowed to use machines and tools available in the workshops in the production of simple jobs and were introduced to some basic practices which they were likely to encounter during industrial training.
However, SWEP was not a substitute for real industrial training.

Advent of SIWES
In recognition of the shortcomings and weaknesses in the formation of SET graduates, particularly with respect to acquisition of relevant production skills (RPSs), the Industrial Training Fund established the Students’ Industrial Work-Experience Scheme (SIWES) in 1973. The scheme was designed to expose students to the industrial environment and enable them develop occupational competencies so that they can readily contribute their quota to national economic and technological development after graduation.
Consequently, SIWES is a planned and structured programme based on stated and specific career objectives which are geared toward developing the occupational competencies of participants.

Objectives of SIWES
The Industrial Training Fund’s Policy Document No. 1 of 1973 (ITF, 1973) which established SIWES outlined the objectives of the scheme. The objectives are to:

• Provide an avenue for students in institutions of higher learning to acquire industrial skills and experience during their courses of study;

• Prepare students for industrial work situations that they are likely to meet after graduation;
• Expose students to work methods and techniques in handling equipment and machinery that may not be available in their institutions;

• Make the transition from school to the world of work easier and enhance students’ contacts for later job placements;

• Provide students with the opportunities to apply their educational knowledge in real work situations, thereby bridging the gap between theory and practice;

• Enlist and strengthen employers’ involvement in the entire educational process through SIWES.

Historical Perspectives on SIWES
The Students’ Industrial Work-Experience Scheme (SIWES) started in 1974 with 748 students from 11 institutions of higher learning participating. By 1978, the scope of participation in the scheme had increased to about 5,000 students from 32 institutions. The Industrial Training Fund, however, withdrew from the management of the scheme in 1979 owing to problems of organisational logistics and the increased financial burden associated with the rapid expansion of SIWES (ITF, 2003). Consequently, the Federal Government funded the scheme through the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) who managed SIWES for five years (1979 – 1984). The supervising agencies (NUC and NBTE) operated the scheme in conjunction with their respective institutions during this period.
TABLE 2: Growth of Students Population and Institutions, 1974 – 1978

YEAR      NUMBER OF INSTITUTIONS      NUMBER OF STUDENTS
1974                              11                                              784
1975                              14                                            1,866
1976                              18                                            3,030
1977                              26                                            3,088
1978                              32                                            4,713
Total                             32                                           13,481

Source: ITF (2003). Students Industrial Work-Experience Scheme in Human Resource Development in Nigeria.

The scheme was subsequently reviewed by the Federal Government resulting in Decree No 16 of August, 1985 which required that “all students enrolled in specialised engineering, technical, business, applied sciences and applied arts should have supervised industrial attachment as part of their studies”. In the same vein, the ITF was directed by the Federal Government to take charge and resume responsibility for the management of SIWES in collaboration with the supervising agencies, i.e. National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).

Following the resumption of management of SIWES by the ITF in 1984, the scheme has witnessed rapid expansion. Between 1985 and 1995, the numbers of institutions and students participating in SIWES rose to 141 and 57,433 respectively. Between 1995 and 2003, a total of 176 institutions and 535,210 students participated in the scheme. In 2008 alone, the number of institutions which participated in SIWES rose to 204 while the number of students from these institutions who participated in the scheme was 210,390.

Presently, participation in the scheme is limited to science, engineering and technology programmes in Universities and Polytechnics while in the Colleges of Education NCE programmes in Technical Education, Agriculture, Business, Creative Arts & Design, Computer Studies and Home Economics are eligible.


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