ABSTRACT
The study examined the Entrepreneurship Education As A Determinant Of Employability Among Babcock University Students.
The study emphasizes on the problem
which sees the Nigeria educational system as the number cause of high
employment, as they turns out graduates in Universities, Polytechnics
and Monotechnics and fail to adequately train them how to be
self-reliant, while these graduates depend solely on white collar jobs
for sustenance.
The study comprises of all 400level-
500level (final year) students of various Departments in Babcock
University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun state, stratified random sampling
technique was adopted in order to ensure that students in various
departments are represented and (330) respondents from 400 & 500
level Babcock University students across various departments in 2016/17
academic session were selected. The sample size was determined using
Yaro Yamane sample size formula.
The data collected were analyzed using
the descriptive statistics methods and the analysis of variance (ANOVA)
was employed to test the stated hypotheses at 0.05% significance level,
Multiple regression and correlation analysis using Statistical Package
for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in adopting the inferential analysis
to test the impact of independent variables on the dependent variable.
All 330 respondents duly participated in
the survey. A well- developed questionnaire was designed to elicit
information from the respondents.
Multiple regression and correlation
analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used
in adopting the inferential analysis to test the impact of independent
variables on the dependent variable.
Result from the study indicated that
Entrepreneurship should often be regarded as the most potent solution to
the issue of unemployment as unemployed youths are propelled to
establish their own business thereby making them job owners, not job
seekers.
Base on this, the study advised that
Babcock University should make entrepreneurship education a mandatory
course to be taken by all students regardless their level and course of
study.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
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 entrepreneurship education 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.