Abstract



The paper presents the factors influencing Technological Learning in the furniture making industry in Southwestern Nigeria. This was with a view to recommending policy measures to enhance the performance of the furniture makers. The research covered Lagos, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti States because furniture makers are found in the nooks and cranies. of the states. The population sample consisted of 319 furniture makers. The research instruments employed were questionnaire, personal observation and focus group discussion approaches. The questionnaire was administered to furniture makers to elicit information on the factors influencing Technology Learning in the industry. Personal observation and focus group discussion were employed to obtain more information. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for data analysis. The research shows that learning in the furniture industry was mainly through on the job training (91.5%). Those who learn furniture work through formal education were 2.2% while the remaining respondents (6.3%) learnt furniture skills through both formal education and on the job training. The Technological Learning by the furniture makers was influenced by age, sex, period of apprentiship, education, financing of the apprentices and native language of instruction. State and Local government should encourage furniture makers in their domains to establish cluster villages where member firms could derive maximum benefits from clustering. This idea will no doubt enhance innovation among the entrepreneurs.