Re-Engineering Technical Vocational Education And Training (TVET) Towards Safety Practice Skill Needs Of Sawmill Workers Against Workplace Hazards In Nigeria.

The study was carried out to identify safety practice skill needs of sawmill workers against workplace hazards in Nigeria. Survey research design was used for study. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The population of 96 comprised 54 sawmill workers and 42 woodwork teachers. The instrument was face validated by three experts in University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the reliability which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.88. The data collected were analyzed using mean to answer the research questions and t-test to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. It was found that all the safety practice skills identified are needed by the sawmill workers for effective and functional operations against workplace hazards. It was recommended that the safety practice skills identified be put to use by sawmill workers through enforcement by Forestry Services Department in Nigeria. The safety practice skills should be integrated into the curriculum of woodwork in Technical Colleges. KEYWORDS: Safety, Skill, Sawmill, Workplace Hazards, Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Re-engineering