ABSTRACT

The purpose ofthe study was to identify the clothing and textile occupations available to senior secondary school leavers in Abia stale and cluster the occupations into clothing jobs according to their relatedness and then identify the employment requirements of such jobs in terms of tasks (related knowledge and working skills) and traits (work habits) necessary for each ofthe occupations. Three research questions guided the study and two (2) hypotheses were tested in the study. Z-test at 0.05 level ofsignificance was used to test (Hoi.) while chi-square (//) was used to test Ho2at 0.05 level ofsignificance. The design ofthe study was survey while the instrument for the data collection was a structured questionnaire. The study area was Abia state. Two major towns in Abia stateAba and Umuahia were chosen as a sample for the study because oftheir positions as commercial city and state capital respectively. Data collected were non-parametric data and descriptive statistics e.g. mean, percentages and frequencies were used for analyzing the data. Twenty-nine (29) clot hing jobs were identified from the study while eighty seven (87) tasks made up of 36 related knowledge and 51 working skills were also identified to be necessary for each ofthe identified occupations. Twenty four (24) traits were found to be necessary for the identified occupations. From these findings, suggestions and recommendations were made for further action. Some ofsuch suggestions are that the tasks and habits identified by this study be developed into teaching modules which the secondary school teachers could use. In order to facilitate the students’ acquisition ofthe identified knowledge, skills and habits, the government should employ qualified clothing and textile teachers for the secondary schools.