Entrepreneurial Competencies Needed By Electrical/Electronic Graduates of Technology Education for Self-Employment in Enugu State (Published)
The objective of this study is to determine the entrepreneurial competencies required by electrical/electronics technology education graduates for self-employment in Enugu State. The study was necessitated because of the prevailing issue of unemployment among graduates of higher institutions which has become a thing of worry for all and sundry. Three purposes of the study with corresponding three research questions and a null hypothesis guided the study. A survey research design was used for the study. Population was 185 graduates of electrical/electronics (tech) education which comprises of 118 government employed and 67 self-employed graduates of the same programme in Enugu State. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire meticulously structured by the researcher which was made up of three sections according to the three research questions of the study. The questionnaire has a total number of 41 item statements structured in four point response categories of very highly needed, highly needed, slightly needed, and not needed with weighting values of 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively. 185 copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondents and collected back by the researcher. Mean with standard deviation was used to answer the three research questions of the study while t-test was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed that ability to accommodate and plan for changes in technology among others are the managerial competencies needed for self-employment while skills to recitify faults among other findings are the technical/ICT competencies needed by graduates of electrical/electronics (tech) education for self-employment. Also, it was found that ability to take wise decisions based on the available facts and being honest to customers and employers among others are interpersonal competencies needed by the graduates for self-employment. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made which include, that education authorities and the government at all levels should create enough awareness about entrepreneurship education for onward eradication of the ailing problems of unemployment and abject poverty that abound in the country.
Keywords: Education, Electrical and Electronics Graduates, Entrepreneurial Competencies, Self-employment
A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF ADEQUACY OF CONTENTS OF EDE CURRICULUM OF POLYTECHNIC EDUCATION TOWARDS MEETING ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS OF OTM GRADUATES (Published)
This study appraised the adequacy of the contents of EDE curriculum of polytechnic education towards meeting entrepreneurship skills of OTM graduates. The study utilized survey research. Research question was raised for the study. An instrument which consisted of 28 items was administered on 30 respondents who taught EDE courses in the Delta State Polytechnics. The data obtained in the study were analyzed using the mean (x ̅ ) statistics. The results derived from the study revealed that the contents of EDE courses are adequate in scope and coverage towards meeting entrepreneurial skills of the OTM graduates for self-employment and employers of labour. It was recommended that EDE curriculum should be revised and reviewed every five years by practising practitioners in collaboration with industries so as to meet the needs, interests and aspirations OTM graduates and the society
Keywords: EDE Curriculum, Entrepreneurial Skills, OTM Graduates., Polytechnic Education, Self-employment
STRATEGIES FOR REVITALIZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN TECHNICAL, VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (TVET) TO ENHANCE SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA (Published)
The study was carried out to determine strategies for revitalizing the implementation of entrepreneurship education in Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to enhance self-employment in Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. The population was made up of 61 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) administrators and 96 entrepreneurs in Small and Medium Enterprises SMEs in the geo-political zones covered by the study. The instrument was face-validated by five TVET experts in University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the reliability and a reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data collected. The study found strategies for revitalizing the implementation of entrepreneurship education in TVET as well as the basic entrepreneurship skills for self-employment and the challenges of revitalizing entrepreneurship education implementation in Nigeria. It was recommended that government should create an enabling environment for smooth running of the laudable entrepreneurship education programme Teachers in TVET should adapt to changes by making themselves available for training and re- training on the nitty-gritty of entrepreneurship education
Keywords: Entrepreneurship education, Implementation, Revitalizing, Self-employment, Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET).