Impact Factor(JCC): 1.7539 - This article can be downloaded from www.impactjournals.us IMPACT: International Journal of Research in Business Management (IMPACT: IJRBM) ISSN(P): 2347-4572; ISSN(E): 2321-886X Vol. 4, Issue 8, Aug 2016, 1-16 © Impact Journals AN EVALUATION OF THE STUDENT INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT PROGRAMME IN ZIMBABWE: A CASE STUDY OF CHINHOYI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY GERALD MUNYORO 1 , ZIVANAYI FRANCIS NYANDORO 2 & MUNYARADZI MUSEKIWA 3 1,3 Graduate Business School, School of Entrepreneurship and Business Sciences Chinhoyi University of Technology, Chinhoyi, Mash West Province, Zimbabwe 2 School of Marketing and Management, Coventry University, United Kingdom ABSTRACT The student industrial attachment has become an integral part of academic programmes that seek to improve students’ career prospects and employability. This study evaluated the attachment programme from the perspective of students and university lecturers. A sample of eighty-seven (87) participants comprising lecturers, students and parents were interviewed using self-administered questionnaires, semi-structured and focus group interviews. Data were analysed using descriptive analysis and content analysis. The majority of the respondents concurred that the student industrial attachment programme helps to bridge the gap between theory and practice. There were perceived variations with respect to the grading of the assessments, mismatch between equipment and technology available in the University and industry. Further, to concerns regarding the administration of the programme, in particular, challenges in securing attachments and student allowances, lack of resources to cover industrial supervisors’ transport and accommodation costs. The main recommendations include the need for the University to establish a Unit to coordinate the programme and foster closer liaison with industry, monitor quality assurance procedures, upgrade equipment and technology. In addition to regular reviews of the student attachment programme in line with changing and challenging business environments. KEYWORDS: Industrial Attachment, Assessments, Experiential Learning, Human Capital Theory INTRODUCTION Industrial attachment programmes provide an opportunity for learning through sense experiences (Jarvis, 1995). Davies (1990) traces the origins of industrial attachment to the Second World War and states that the main reason was to bridge the gap between skills demands by industry and the content of traditional undergraduate courses in the advent of technological advances. As a result, graduate students lacked practical skills that they could apply in the workplace which resulted in slow settling in of graduates in the workplace (The Percy Report, 1945). McMahon and Quinn (1995) posit that there is an implied notion in industrial attachment that experience cannot be substituted and that the benefits of attachment programmes vary among students, employers and the training institutions. McMahon and Quinn (1995) state that students saw attachment as helping them improve their communication skills and better understanding of the operations of the respective organisation. For the employers, the programme bridged the gap between theory and practice while academics viewed attachment as helping clarify career objectives as well as enhancing job opportunities for the students. In turn, Leslie (1991) further outlines the following benefits of student attachments: giving students broader knowledge through increased awareness of the opportunities available, the diversity of the industry; personal development, in particular,