AN ASSESSMENT OF COMPETENCY BASED TRAINING ON THE SKILLS ACQUISITION OF ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN GHANA-CASE STUDY OF CAPE COAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of the study was to assess Competency Based Training on the skills acquisition of Electrical/Electronic Engineering Students in Ghana, using Cape Coast Technical University as a case study. The researcher used descriptive research design for the study. The study adopted the mixed approach which made used of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study population was made up of all Electrical/Electronic Engineering Students, Lecturers, Laboratory Technicians and industrial workers at the Cape Coast Technical University. The population for the study was 250 respondents. Data was collected from all 7 Lecturers, 3 Laboratory Technicians and 23 industrial workers using purposive sampling while random sampling technique was used to select 119 students for the study. Questionnaires and interview guides were the instruments used to gather primary data. The data collected was analysed statistically using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18. The study findings indicated that 57(50%) of the respondents revealed that Competency Based Training is somewhat effective on the skills acquisition of Electrical/Electronic Engineering Students. Moreover, 45(39.5%) of the students indicated that Laboratory Technicians/Instructors who are manning the various laboratories in the Department are somewhat competent. Furthermore, 60(52.6%) disagreed that tools and equipment are available for practical work. The challenges affecting the Technical University Education in Ghana are inadequate infrastructure, lack of workshops/laboratories, workshop/laboratory facilities, and inadequate funding. The study recommended that the Government of Ghana should provide adequate infrastructure and teaching and learning materials to equip the Electrical workshops/laboratories with educational resources that can improve Vocational and Technical Education (VET) in the Cape Coast Technical University.