EFFECT OF EMPLOYEES ICT SKILLS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

The manufacturing firms are among the relevant sectors that contribute positively to the growth and development of the Nations economy. Perhaps, one of the major concerns of the manufacturing firms is to maximize performance and compete efficiently in the market. However, there is growing intimation on the poor performance of many manufacturing industries in the South-east region of Nigeria. Thus, the current study aimed to investigate the performance of manufacturing firms based on the ICT skills of the employees. One hundred and nine employees from different departments in various manufacturing firms responded to the research instrument designed to measure ICT competence and two performance domains. A simple linear regression was conducted on the data, and the result indicated a statistically significant association between employeesICT skills and increased performance of the firms. The finding, implications, and conclusions are discussed.