Effect of the combination of Mode of training and Business location on product quality: The Case Study of Arc Welding in Small Scale Metalworking Enterprises in Kenya

Charles M.M. Ondieki

The quality of products from the micro and small enterprise sector is affected by both the entrepreneur’s and enterprise’s attributes. This paper presents and discusses findings of a study that was designed to investigate experimentally the relationship between the quality of arc welding in the Small Scale Metalwork sub-sector and the combined effect of the artisan’s mode of training and business location. A total of 36 artisans with secondary education and 36 artisans with primary education consisting of formally (35) and informally (37) trained artisans from urban (29 artisans) and rural (43 artisans) areas participated in the evaluation. A mild steel product was fabricated by each participating artisan, assessed and scores awarded based on the quality of arc welding. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to show any variation in the quality of arc welding; comparisons of means using the Least Significant Difference (LSD) at the alpha level of 5% were done to determine which pairs of artisans affected quality significantly. The study found out that informally trained artisans working in urban areas exhibited the highest quality of arc welding. The informally trained artisans working in rural areas exhibited the lowest quality of arc welding. The study found out that artisans from urban areas performed better than those from rural areas. Generally, formal training does not have a significant effect on urban artisans, but it does improve product quality of arc welding from rural artisans. The findings of the study provide evidence that formal training can improve product quality from artisans working in rural areas, and therefore more resources should be channeled to training of rural artisans.