Training Needs Assessment for Igbo Language Broadcasters at NTA Regional Stations in the South East

This study conducts a training needs assessment for Igbo language broadcasters employed at Nigerian Television Authority regional stations in the South East geopolitical zone, identifying competency gaps and priority training interventions required to enhance the quality and cultural authenticity of Igbo language broadcasting. The NTA South East regional stations in Enugu, Owerri, Aba, and Awka collectively produce several hours of Igbo language content daily, yet broadcaster training infrastructure for Igbo language specific competencies is minimal and uncoordinated. The research administers a validated training needs assessment inventory to sixty-three NTA Igbo language broadcasters and seven station programme directors, supplemented by analysis of broadcast performance review records and audience feedback data from viewer correspondence archives. Findings identify the five highest-priority training needs as: advanced Igbo oral diction and tonal accuracy, Igbo literary and proverb knowledge for presentational contexts, Igbo-English professional interpreting and translation, digital audio production for Igbo language content, and Igbo dialect awareness for audience-appropriate communication. A competency-based training curriculum outline is developed in response to these identified needs and validated by a panel of Igbo language academics and broadcast industry professionals. The study recommends a coordinated NTA-university partnership model for delivering the proposed training programme. Keywords: training needs assessment, Igbo broadcasters, NTA, South East Nigeria, broadcast competency.