ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION AS A DETERMINANT OF EMPLOYABILITY
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
The
twenty-first century has been tagged the ‘entrepreneurial age’. This is because
nations are been shaped by entrepreneurs, men and women who have made changes
by risking
various
resources e.g. time, money, energy in establishing and running their own
businesses. The unacceptable rate of youth unemployment in the country, the low
standard of living and the hope of technological transfer has led to a renewed
interest in entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. The claim of some people
is that entrepreneurship education does not need to be taught and therefore, an
entrepreneur is born to be so. It should be noted that for someone to be a
successful entrepreneur, he/she needs to learn the skills (Griffin and Hammis,
2001). The global world is currently facing a very hard time and Nigeria as a
nation cannot run away from it; rather we are to provide solution to some of
these problems facing us. Some of the major problems facing Nigeria currently
include recession, unemployment, poverty, inadequate and poor healthcare
services, insecurity, Nigeria cannot resolve these problems when we neglect or
refuse to develop the capacity for entrepreneurship which will lead to the
employability of the youths.
Entrepreneurship
education seeks to prepare people most especially the growing youths to be
responsible and independent rather than dependent, to be thinkers who will
contribute to economic development. It is not just teaching someone how to
start a business rather it encourages creative thinking, innovation and the
visualization of the thought.
Education
aims at influencing the learner’s characters and also enabling the learner to
develop in all areas.
The term entrepreneur was first used by Cantillon in 1734 to describe a person
who bears the risk of profit or loss. Entrepreneurship which is the bedrock of
the world and economy at large is the key driver of our economy in the sense
that jobs and wealth are created by small businesses started by entrepreneurial
minded individuals which then trend to grow into large establishments.
Entrepreneurship
education encompasses strategies in introducing and instilling
entrepreneurship attitudes into students. Entrepreneurship education instills
in students the additional knowledge, attributes and capabilities required in
the context of setting up a new venture or business and the ability to
demonstrate initiative and original thought, alongside self-discipline in
starting tasks. It is aimed at producing university graduates with thinking and
entrepreneurial attributes; thereby enlightening them on the challenges of
obtaining capital for business set-up. It is a lifelong learning process
starting as early as elementary school and progressing through all levels of
education.
Furthermore,
entrepreneurship education will inculcate and expose the students and potential
entrepreneurs to entrepreneurial values and skills which include the aspect of
leadership, innovation, creativity, competitiveness independence, calculated
risk and ability to identify and create opportunities (Akpomi, 2008).
More
so, it is the incorporation into the students’ syllabus steps involved in
starting a new business based on a recognised business opportunity as well as
operating and maintaining that business. It will enhance necessary
identification and avoidance of various problems that might be faced by the
less trained contemporaries. The training in
may initially be perceived as a cost in terms of time and money but it
would eventually be appreciated. The enlightenment philosopher John Locker
(1632-1704) stress that every human has a fortune in their own personality.
From the perspective of entrepreneurship, this means that this fortune of a
human being is constituted of mental recourse which includes; internal
entrepreneurship, self-development and learning new things and ideas, and also
material recourses which refer to external entrepreneurship that is material
values. Schumpeter in 1934 argued that entrepreneurship education is very
significant to the growth and development of economies. It becomes apparent
that careful attention is needed to invest and promote entrepreneurship, having
understood the vital role of entrepreneurship in economic development through
employment. The development of employability and entrepreneurship skills has to
be through a series of well-coordinated steps and processes, not the current
slapdash approach in which in various universities the first two years of
study, undergraduates are taught the theory of entrepreneurship while in the
third year they are then taught practical. it should realized that
entrepreneurship cannot be taught in isolation of employability skills.
Employability
is a continuous learning process that means once employed, learning does not
stop. Employability is a management philosophy; developed by a student Rashid
Khan from India, Mumbai, which recognises that employment and market
performance stem from the initiative, creativity and competencies of all
employees and not just from the wisdom of senior management. Lee Harvey defines
employability as the ability of a graduate to get a satisfying job, stating
that job acquisition should not be prioritized over preparedness for employment
to avoid pseudo measure of individual employability. Lee argues that
employability is not a set of skills but a range of experience and attributes
developed through higher-level learning, thus employability is not a “product”
but a process of learning. Students who engage in developing their
employability are said to be likely independent, reflective and responsible
learners.
Unemployment
is a common phenomenon among graduate hence the need for entrepreneurship
education cannot be over emphasized, thus, it will help to reduce if not
eradicate this havoc of unemployment in our society. Unemployment has led to
mental health, health disease, crime and violence, suicide case and even poverty.
Nigeria unemployment rate was recorded at 12.1% in March quarter 2016 and 13.3%
in June quarter 2016, up from 10.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015, the
number of unemployed persons rose by 18 percent that is 9.485 million,
meanwhile, youth unemployment increased to 21.5 percent from 19 percent as
reported by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria. Nigeria is in a present
state of recession having realised two consecutive quarters of negative GDP
(gross domestic product), in March quarter -0.36 and in June quarter -2.06 in
2016, at this stage, job creation will be very difficult in Nigeria. Having
seen the above statistics it could be deduced that the unemployment rate in
Nigeria keeps increasing over the years, this problem can be capped with the
introduction of entrepreneurship education into the university syllabus. The
Phillips Consulting Education and Employability Report (2014) highlights the
need for skills such as critical thinking, interpersonal relationship, ability
to work with technology, etc, but these skills have not been taught in
our universities in order to equip students ,taken to consideration that these
skills are required for employability thus rendering the students unemployable
in the society.
The
federal government of Nigeria in an attempt to ensure that her citizens are
self-employed established the National Directorate of Employment in 1986. It is
the belief of the government that this agency will reduce unemployment, which
is a problem in our society. The agency’s operations include; reactivation of
public works, promotion of direct labour, self-employment, organisation of
artisans into cooperative and encouragement of culture of maintenance and
repairs (Onifade, 2001). In others countries like UK, by 2000, business and
entrepreneurial development was listed by Universities UK as one of four
strategic goals for British universities, the broad aim of this initiative was
to add value to society and the economy though the transfer of knowledge and
also presented an opportunity for higher education institutions to contribute
to the development of entrepreneurial and enterprising students, and graduates.
The Department of Business in 2008, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform reported
on the Government's renewed strategy and vision to make the UK the most
enterprising economy in the world and the best place to start and grow a
business. It laid out a new enterprise policy framework around five separate
but interlinked themes as key enablers for the country's enterprise performance:
culture of enterprise, knowledge and skills, access to finance, regulatory
framework, and business innovation. The report highlighted the need for
enterprise education from primary to tertiary education, the Government's
vision of inspiring an enterprising approach among students and graduates, and
the promotion of innovation as a core driver for enterprise (Berr, 2008).
However,
this study will examine entrepreneurship
education as a determinant of employability among Babcock University
students using the final year students of the university as a case study. The
University incorporated into the syllabus of the students irrespective of
course or department a course known as ‘Entrepreneurship’. It is therefore
necessary for these categories of students to think like an entrepreneur since
they are expected to start their own businesses after graduation or work
closely with entrepreneurs.
1.2
Statement of Problem
Nigeria
educational system that turns out graduates from about 150 Universities and 50
Polytechnics and Monotechnics do not adequately train their graduates to be
self reliant, but these graduates depend solely on white collar jobs for
sustenance. It has been reported that about 80% of graduates find it difficult
to get employed yearly and at the same time, much has not been done in trying
to solve this problem. However, entrepreneurship education can bridge this gap
by equipping the undergraduates in becoming a successful entrepreneur thereby
creating employment. Apart from the book knowledge that they gain there
are no requisite skills to make them self dependent. Entrepreneurship skills
acquired through entrepreneurship
education has been recognised as an important aspect of organizations and
the economy as a whole. It contributes in an immeasurable way toward creating
new job, poverty reduction, wealth creation and income generation for both
government and individuals.
Although,
several attempts have been made at encouraging entrepreneurial activities in
Nigeria in the past, there is no gain saying the fact that these initiatives
failed to produce the desired results due to various constraints such as poor
implementation, inadequate and inefficient infrastructural facilities and over
bearing bureaucracy have been identified as being responsible for this failure.
This
study therefore intend to investigate how entrepreneurship education provided
in Babcock University syllabus has prepared the students for future employment
challenges and the extent to which entrepreneurship education determines
employability among Babcock University students.
1.3
Objectives of the Study
The
general objective of the study is examining entrepreneurship
education as a determinant of employability among Babcock University
students while the following are the specific objectives;
To find
out the assessment of Babcock University students on the course
Entrepreneurship education. To find the impact of entrepreneurship education on
Babcock University students To find out if entrepreneurship education can be a
significant determinant of employability among Babcock University students.
1.4
Research Questions
What is
the student’s assessment of entrepreneurship education? What is the impact of
entrepreneurship education on Babcock University students? Will
entrepreneurship education significantly determine employability among Babcock
University Students?
1.5
Statement of hypothesis
The
following hypotheses will be tested in this study:
Ho1:
Entrepreneurship education will not significantly determine employability among
Babcock University students.
1.6
Significance of the Study
The
move by the government through the Federal Ministry of Education to make
entrepreneurship education one of the compulsory general studies for students
in universities across the country should be seen as a positive step in the
right direction. This is to inculcate in the youths the spirit of self
reliance. This development will not only address the problem of unemployment
and underemployment but will also ensure an entrepreneurial human capacity for
national development and also give students an alternative career option and
the confidence that they can set up their own business or social enterprise.
The
significance of this study brings to knowledge the crucial need to increase
employability through the use of entrepreneurship education putting more
consideration on the educational system and its developmental effect in the
society.
The
study highlights the problems of lack of employment or knowledge of how to
start-up businesses; the resultant effect of which is a society that breeds
healthy partnership and motivation.
However,
the contribution of this research work to knowledge identifies what is
important to the economy, which is qualitative entrepreneurship
education in increasing employment which is the focus need of the
economy.
1.7
Scope of the study
This
research work which focuses on entrepreneurship education as a determinant of
employability which will be carried out among 400level students of Babcock
University The study considers entrepreneurship skills of this group of people
to be relevant because they have undergone the course ‘Entrepreneurship’.
1.8
Operational definition
In the
course of this study the following variables entrepreneur, entrepreneurship,
education, entrepreneurship education, employability and unemployment have been
used constantly, this will serve as a guide in understanding this variables;
Entrepreneur:
is a person that singlehandedly start his/her own business with initiative and
insight of growing this business using the skills, talents and ideas acquired.
This individual prefers to be self-employed rather than be employed; he/she
handles the risk of the business and also enjoys the profit generated from this
same business.
Entrepreneurship:
the ability to start up, develop, organise and manage a business venture been
fully aware of its risks and challenges and also its profits and gains.
Education: it is the process of going through trainings, acquiring knowledge,
giving or receiving systematic information in order to facilitate learning and
also the ability to put into practise what has been learnt. It is the act of
acquiring knowledge whether formally or at informally hereby leading to a
change in behaviour which enables one to fit properly into the society large.
Entrepreneurship
education: this is a programme or course offered by all final year students of
Babcock University which seeks to provide students with necessary information,
insights and ideas on how to start, develop, organise and manage a business of
their own. It deals with creativity.
Employability:
It involves essential skills and abilities that enables one to be gainfully
employed into the various employment opportunities thereby reducing the
unemployment rate in the country.
Unemployment:
it is an economic situation in which individuals that are willing and able to
work, are not presently working because they could not get gainfully employment
Entrepreneurship
skills: these are the necessary set of skills required to be possessed by an
entrepreneur in order to run a business successfully
Self
employment: this is when an individual takes up the risk of starting; managing,
directing and organising his/her own business with the purpose of increasing
the economic growth and also to maximize profit.
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