CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Recently, there have been some resentment shown by some organizations as a result of the disappointment that they encountered while interviewing people who are supposed to have been trained as secretaries. It is also an experience that is becoming common or rather already common with students dispatched for their industrial training scheme. But we know that a large part of this problem can be traced back to the lack of adequate secretarial training facilities in our higher institutions. It is not a hidden truth that most of our higher institutions are not what they ought to be in the sense that they lack the variety of equipment they need to up to – date models of the equipment they need.
No doubt, this lack has affected the production of secretaries that is why this project work wants to look at these shortcomings their effects and people reaction to them. Now, when we talk about producing a secretary, a is different from a typist. If we are going to produce a secretary, the facilities or equipment required will be very much different and advanced than that required to produce a typist. It is, however unfortunate today that if one goes to some of our institutions of higher learning, he will discover that the totality of the facilities left to the disposal of the or the students look more like than it looks likes that of secretaries. A secretary is an executive assistant who possess a mastery of office skills, who demonstrate the ability to assume responsibilities without direct supervision, who exercises initiative and judgement and who make decision within the scope of assigned authority –NATIONAL SECRETARIES ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL.
It when we have a knowledge of who the secretary is that we can assess the type of training. The secretary needs a good knowledge of general education, good knowledge of short hand, typewriting, office practice and administration, business law, law and practice of meeting, human resources management, accounting, data processing, industrial psychology, human relations, economies and a foreign language.
For shorthand, the students need good shorthand laboratories equipped with ear phones cassette players and recorder etc. for typewriting, they need good and modern typewriters ranging horn manual typewriters, electron/electronic typewriters to computers. This is to mention but a few looking at all the facilities needed for effective secretarial training without which you cannot produce a secretary. The students don’t need to hear about office equipment with their ears only but need to know how to operate them practically in view of the fact that the secretarial profession is a practical one. For more emphasis, if we re talking about filing, the students must have been able to file documents. By definition some students don’t known how these equipments look like until they meet them in the organization they find themselves out there in the labour market; and what do you think, the effects will be numerous.
When students don’t know what to do, they do what they know. With the consistent standard of the various examination bodies like the National University Council (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the students seek means of maneuvering their ways to pass. More of the after mart includes unemployment, incompetence, termination of appointments, loss of confidence, loss of reputation for certificate etc.
It is therefore the believe of the researcher that this research work will enlighten, educate as well as serve as a role model for production of first class secretaries from our universities and polytechnics.