Abstract
The Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) enhances students’ competencies by bridging the gap between practice and theory to improve employability. Despite this, there is limited empirical evidence concerning the programme's effectiveness in supporting capability development among participating students in Nigeria. This study, therefore, investigates whether SIWES enhances the development of the most sought-after employability competencies among participating students. One hundred and thirty-four students were sampled, and data was analyzed using a structural equation model. The study confirmed that SIWES enhances four out of the five competencies examined. The study concluded that SIWES offers significant benefits to students by fostering the development of competencies such as analytical, adaptability, ICT proficiency, problem-solving abilities, and people management skills, all of which are crucial for future employment. The study recommended that higher education providers strengthen and establish frameworks for effective SIWES programme to develop students' competency and prepare them for future jobs.
References
Abraham-Ibe, I. G. (2015). SIWES as an imperative tool for enhancing students’ academic performances in OTM department. International Journal of Management Sciences and Humanities, 3(1), 162–175.
Adegbite, W. M., Adeosun, O. T. (2021). Fourth industrial revolution skillsets and employability readiness for future job. Global journal of social science studies, 7(1), 35–49. https://doi.org/10.20448/807.7.1.35.49
Ahmed, F., Fattani, M. T., Ali, S. R., Enam, R. N. (2022). Strengthening the Bridge Between Academic and the Industry Through the Academia-Industry Collaboration Plan Design Model. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.875940
Alao, O., Alao, T. (2022). Achieving the effectiveness of the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme for sustainability of the Nigerian economy. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, 23(3), 393–404.
Al-Alawneh, M. (2014). Measuring students’ employability skills as they are perceived at Yarmouk University. Canadian Social Science, 10 (1), 10–20. https://10.3968/j.css.1923669720141001.4023
Bashir, I. B., Sunusi, M. I., Abubakar, Y. K. (2022). Information, communication and technology (ict) usage in teaching practice (tp) and students’ industrial work experience scheme (siwes). Problems & prospects. Watari Journal, 6(1), 163–170.
Barclay, D., Thompson, R., Higgins, C. (1995). The Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach to causal modeling: Personal computer use as an illustration. Technology Studies, 2(2), 285–309.
Chin, W. W. (2010). How to write up and report PLS analyses In V. E. Vinzi, W. W. Chin, J. Henseler, H. Wang (Eds.), Handbook of partial least squares: Concepts, methods, and applications: (2) (pp. 655–690). Springer handbooks of computational statistics series.
Dada, L., Ojetunde, S. (2020). Quality and unemployment issues in curriculum and Graduate outputs of Nigerian Universities. Journal of Positive Psychology and Counselling, 6, 134–145.
Daerego, I. T., Victor, N. (2023). Influence of students’ industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) on employment opportunities of adult education graduates from Universities in Rivers State. International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies, 2(2), 45–59.
Eichmann, B., Goldhammer, F., Greiff, S., Pucite, L., Naumann, J. (2019). The role of planning in complex problem-solving. Elsevier: Computers & Education, 128, 1–12.
Fuchs K (2022). The importance of competency development in higher education: Letting go of rote learning. Frontier Education, 7, 1004876. https://doi/10.3389/feduc.2022.1004876
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., Sarstedt, M. A. (2016), Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage Publications.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M. (2017b). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). Sage.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). Sage.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M. (2016). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modelling, Journal of Academic Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135.
Kenayathulla, H. B., Ahmad, N. A., Idris, A. R. (2019). Gaps between competence and importance of employability skills: evidence from Malaysia, Higher Education Evaluation and Development, 13(2), 97–112. https://doi.org/10.1108/HEED-08-2019-0039
Kock, N. (2013). WarpPLS 4.0 User Manual. ScriptWarp Systems.
Maiunguwa, S. (2022). Emerging issues in science, technology and mathematics education (stem) internship [teaching practice (tp) and siwes]: challenges & prospects. WATARI Multidisciplinary Journal of Science & Technology Education, 6(1), 1–13.
National Bureau of Statistics (2020). Labour force statistics: unemployment and underemployment, Report (Q4 2020). Retrieved from: https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary/read/1238
Omonijo D. O., Anyaegbunam, M. C., Nnatu, O. B., Ejor, S., Victoria Ajibola, Adeleke, V. A., Oluwunmi, A. O. Olowooere, E. I., Agubo, C. (2019). The Review of the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) in Four Selected Countries. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 8(3), 158–169. https://doi/10.2478/ajis-2019-0055
Oswald-Egg, M. E., Renold, U. (2021). No experience, no employment: The effect of vocational education and training work experience on labour market outcomes after higher education. Economics of Education Review, 80, 102065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.102065
Pang, E., Wong, M., Leung, C. H., Coombes, J. (2018). Competencies for fresh graduates’ success at work: Perspectives of employers. Industry and Higher Education, 33(4), 095042221879233. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422218792333
Rodzalan, Noor, Mohd Arif and Saat. (2020). Factors Influencing the Improvement of Students’ Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skill: An Industrial Training Intervention. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 15, 134. https://doi/10.3991/ijet.v15i22.16303
Suarta, I. M., Suwintana, I. K., Sudhana, I. F. P., Hariyanti, N. K. D. (2017). Employability skills required by the 21st century workplace: A literature review of labor market demand. Proceeding of International Conference on Technology and Vocational Teachers. Atlantis Press. doi: http://doi.org/10.2991/ictvt-17.2017.58
UNIDO (2017). Skills Gap Assessment in Six Priority Sectors of Nigeria's Economy. U. N. I. D. Organisation.
Usman, M. K. (2021). Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme as Correlate of Digital Skills and Competences among Emerging Librarians from Bayero University Library School. African Journal of Library Arch. & Inf. Sc. 31(1), 39–49.
Varma, C., Malik, S. (2023). TVET in the 21st Century: A Focus on Innovative Teaching and Competency Indicators. IntechOpen, 1–21. https://doi/10.5772/intechopen.112516
World Economic Forum. (2017). The future of jobs and skills in Africa – preparing the region for the fourth industrial revolution. Geneva: World Economic Forum.
Wu, H., Molnár, G. (2022). Complex problem-solving strategies from a cognitive perspective: The role of thinking skills. Journal of Intelligence, 10(3), 46. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence10030046

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Modern Management Review