Published Article

The study determined the fabrication and welding trade skills need of technical college students in Akwa Ibom State. Two specific purposes, two research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 235 fabrication and welding trade students in senior technical two (ST 2) and 14 instructors in technical colleges in Akwa Ibom State. Purposive Sampling technique was used since the population was not too large. A total of 205 copies of the questionnaire were completely filled and used for data analysis. Fabrication and Welding Trade Skills Need Questionnaire (FWTSNQ) was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by two experts of Fabrication and Welding Trade and one Expert of Test and Measurement in the Faculty of Education, University of Uyo. The reliability of the instrument was .84 which was established using Cronbach Alpha method. Mean, standard deviation and independent t-test were used for data analysis. Findings of the study revealed that technical college students need arc welding and soldering skills to a great extent. And there is no significant difference in the mean responses of technical college students and instructors on the extent to which technical college students need arc welding and soldering skills. It is recommended among others that fabrication and welding workshops should be equipped with modern tools, machines, equipment and materials.