RURAL WOMEN’S VOCATIONAL TRAINING PARTICIPATION FOR SUSTAINABLE POVERTY REDUCTION

Abstract

Vocational training programmes hold great potential to empower rural women and can play a vital role in fostering sustainable poverty alleviation. It is against this backdrop that this study investigates the participation of rural women in vocational training programmes for sustainable poverty alleviation in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. The study has three specific objectives which are to examine rural women's participation, willingness to participate in vocational training willingness to be self-employed after the seminar. The study employed a mixed-method design, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The population of the study was infinite. The adaptive sampling technique was used to select a sample of 121 rural women from five districts within Moro LGA. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions. The instruments were duly validated. The questionnaire has a Cronbach reliability coefficient of 0.82. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the quantitative data while thematic analysis was employed for the qualitative data of the study. The findings reveal that the extent of rural women's participation in vocational training programmes is relatively low (mean = 1.48), rural women have a strong willingness to participate in vocational training programmes after the seminar. The study concludes that systemic barriers, not a lack of interest, are responsible for the current low participation of rural women in vocational training. The study recommends among others that governmental and non-governmental organizations should establish community-based vocational hubs with flexible, low-cost training modules tailored to rural women's schedules and socioeconomic conditions.