Amid increasing students’ enrollment in Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) vocational technical education (VTE) programmes in colleges of education (COEs), there is evident shortage of vocational technical teachers in basic education schools across Nigeria. Understanding the occupational preference of students, their career destination and reasons for the preference could assist in addressing the shortage and how to provide support to facilitate students’ transition from school to work. The study aimed to investigate occupational preference of students, reveal reasons which shaped the preference and possible differences in preference in relation to students’ field of specialization. The participants were final year (N=499) vocational technical teacher education students in South-South, Nigeria. The sample size was 222 students. The research data was collected using researcher constructed questionnaire. This instrument has a reliability index of 0.85. The data collected was analyzed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed teaching as the occupational preference of the students. Students’ preference for teaching was shaped by non-monetary motivational factors as job security, love for teaching and working with people. Abundant job opportunities in teaching field, which are easy to access and flexible working hours that provide opportunities to engage in other economic activities further explained students’ preference for teaching. Students’ preference for teaching was not influenced by their areas of specialization. Consequently, it was recommended that government should introduce incentives to encourage students to enter and remain in teaching.
Keywords: Nigeria, Nigeria Certificate in education, Occupational preference, Self-employment, South-South, Teaching, vocational technical education
