Multivariate Assessment of Industrial Attachment by Students of Tertiary Institutions in Ghana

Abstract

The paper examines the latent benefits as well as the challenges that are associated with industrial attachment exercise undertaken by tertiary institution students in Ghana. It makes use of exploratory factor analysis of high-dimensional datasets generated on likert scale using a total of forty-eight indicators of the usefulness and challenges of the exercise along various dimensions. The results show a general acceptance of the usefulness of the exercise. However, there is equally a general acceptance of challenges. Specific dimensions of these challenges are issues related to distance that students and supervisors have to cover to access attachment centres; lack of monitoring and supervision; and lack of suitability of training programmes. Using factor scores, the results further show that the extent of usefulness and challenges associated with industrial attachment are almost equally experienced by all students irrespective of sex and programme of study.

KEYWORDS: Industrial Attachment, Graduate Unemployment, Training Programme