Entrepreneurship Development and Unemployment Reduction in Nigeria (Published)
This study investigates the relationship between Entrepreneurship Development and employment reduction in Anambra State, Nigeria. The research focused on youths of five selected Local Government Council of Anambra state, Nigeria. Data were collected using questionnaire from an infinite population of the selected Local Government Council. Samples of 30 youths were drawn from the population of each Local Government through a convenience sampling technique. A total of 150 youths were sample for the study. However, four hypotheses were tested; the first, second and third hypotheses were designed to investigate the relationship between Entrepreneurship training and unemployment reduction; the relationship between Entrepreneurship traits and unemployment reduction; and the relationship between Entrepreneurship empowerment and unemployment reduction respectively. The fourth hypothesis was on the examination of entrepreneurship challenges affecting unemployment reduction. The test conducted shows that the variables in Ho1, Ho2 and Ho3 were significantly and positively related and Ho4 was also significant. The study recommended that Government should strive to reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria. Unemployed youths in Anambra State should also be strengthened to embrace entrepreneurship devoid the imitation and vocational inclinations.
Keywords: Entrepreneurial Development, Entrepreneurship Empowerment, Entrepreneurship Training, Entrepreneurship Traits, Unemployment
The Educated Youth Unemployment Debacle in Zimbabwe: An Evaluation of the Impact of Intervention Programmes (Published)
This study was an evaluation of the intervention programmes which were put in place by the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) and its cooperating partners to address youth unemployment with specific reference to educated youths. Such a study was viewed as critical because it informs policy on what needs to be done correctly or improved in future endeavours to avoid repeating the same mistakes given that educated youth unemployment continues to rise in Zimbabwe. The study took the form of a survey in which 955 unemployed educated youths selected from the country’s ten provinces using multi-stage sampling techniques were used as respondents. The study found out that the intervention programmes did not achieve the desired impact as judged by most of the respondents who were supposed to be beneficiaries. Most respondents indicated that they had never heard about the existence of most of the fifteen intervention programmes identified in this research. The study recommended transparency through marketing initiatives which targeted youths in their final years of full-time education. The study found out that the intervention programmes were not adequately funded and this caused the selection of beneficiaries difficult leading to lack of trust with most intended beneficiaries suspecting corruption. Given the magnitude of the unemployment problem among educated youths, it was also recommended that Government and its cooperating partners should adequately fund the intervention programmes so that they achieve the desired impact of reducing the educated youth unemployment debacle.
Keywords: Intervention Programmes, Unemployment, Youth Unemployment