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Elementary Structural Design (ESD) is a subject through which technology education students learn about the problems and behaviour of structures under the effect of different types of forces. At the college of education level in Nigeria, ESD is a compulsory course for all the students undergoing technical education teacher preparation for the award of the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) in Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of fixed vs floating facilitator approaches of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on students' achievement and interest in ESD. The design was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest nonequivalent 2 x 2 factorial design. The participants (78) were randomized to treatment conditions. The researchers conducted a repeated-measures analysis of variance and univariate analysis of variance to compare changes across the treatment groups.

Results show that using the fixed facilitator model of PBL approaches is more effective in improving students' achievement, while both models increase students' interest in ESD. Also, the study revealed that there was no influence attributable to gender on students' achievement and interest in ESD. Hence, the fixed facilitator instructional model was advocated for technical teachers to foster students' achievement and interest in ESD in Nigeria.

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The changing economies in many developing countries have forced governments and educators to place a high priority on entrepreneurial skill training and development. The major thrusts of technical and vocational education (TVE) in Nigeria amongst other things are to address issues of self reliance, job creation, youth unemployment, poverty and international competitiveness in skills development towards current and projected opportunities and challenges. Such issues are crucial particularly to Nigeria and to Africa's dignity and survival in general in the fast-changing global environment. This paper highlights the concepts, issues and need for entrepreneurial skill acquisition in woodwork trades in addressing the problems of youth unemployment in Nigeria. The paper also identifies some challenges to effective entrepreneurial skill development in TVE. Some recommendations are made, based on the identified challenges.

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Technical Vocational and Technical Education (TVET) has the potential to influence the labour market and transform the economy resulting in an improvement in the advancement of careers. This study assesses the potential of TVET to influence the labour market using the opinions of conferees. The study employs an integrative multi-method approach with a descriptive survey and focus group discussion. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 153 conferees using self-selection, non-probability sampling technique. Descriptive statistics of percentages and mean were used to analyze the data collected. Furthermore, the Keiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy gave [Measurement System Analysis] MSA of .948; Bartlett's Test of Sphericity showed p-value of 0.000, necessitating a factor analysis. The Kruskal-Wallis H Test was used to determine the statistical differences in the responses. Results revealed a gradual balance of gender in TVET with 53 per cent female and 47 per cent male; among the 99 per cent employed in diverse sectors, only 18 per cent (28) created jobs by themselves. Although there was coherence in agreement to TVET potentials, some respondents disagreed that TVET leads to good career opportunities. Findings show underlying strategy groupings to improve potential, in line with the focus group analysis, include: quality and upgraded learning environment, teachers and labour market information; relevant technical and employability skills, and established gender equality standards.

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Modernity and technological developments have necessitated the need to expose opportunities in e-learning for effective technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programme. The opinion of the teachers regarding availability of these e-learning opportunities raises concern in teaching circles. It could be that teachers appear not worried about the availability of these opportunities. Against this background, it becomes necessary to determine the opinion of teachers on the availability of e-learning opportunities for effective TVET programme in tertiary institutions in South east Nigeria. To achieve this, three research questions and one null hypothesis were raised. The study adopted a descriptive research survey using a sample of 98 TVET lecturers from Enugu State South. Instrument for data collection was validated by three experts and reliability established using Cronbach alpha statistics which yielded a coefficient index value of 0.71 and was adjudged as high enough. It was found out that in the teachers' opinion, e-learning opportunities for effective TVET programme were not available, and that this opinion was not dependent on experience. It was further recommended that teachers be sent on capacity building programmes to get acquainted with the skills to exploit the availability of e-learning opportunities in higher institutions.

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