ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION, JOB CREATION FOR GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH-SOUTH GEOPOLITICAL ZONE OF NIGERIA

Abstract

In recent time, research studies have shown that entrepreneurship education is necessary for gainful self-employment and self-reliance. The researcher has also observed that self-reliance on the part of graduates is still a mirage. In the Nigerian socio-economic context, youth employment ratio is also on the increase. The study investigated how our graduates are getting along about employment, job creation and entrepreneurship development. Two research questions guided the study. The questionnaire titled Entrepreneurship Education and Job Creation Questionnaire (EEJCQ) of 5 likert scale of 1 to 10 was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using population t-test. The results were tested at 0.05 level of significance with a degree of freedom 549. The results revealed that career intervention in four dimensions of entrepreneurs’ skills, and level of skills acquired after completing entrepreneurship course are significantly very high. Based on the findings, it was recommended that more emphasis should be placed on technical and vocational education and training. Provision of infrastructures like electricity; qualified professional teachers for quality teaching; equipment of trade laboratories and workshops to support the teaching of entrepreneurship courses in the University.