Entrepreneurship Training for Mitigating Unemployment in Nigeria: How have the Tertiary Institutions Fared?

Abstract

The increasing unemployment in Nigeria is one of the social problems contributing to abject poverty, crime and other civil vices plaguing the country today. Although the public and private sectors have made some efforts in addressing the problem, available current statistics show that both sectors lack the capacity to solely employ the entire manpower base of the country. Considering the potential of entrepreneurial training for reducing unemployment, the Nigerian government through the National Universities Commission (NUC) introduced entrepreneurial education as a compulsory course in various higher institutions. In this study, we aimed to ascertain the extent to which these institutions have implemented entrepreneurial education for mitigating unemployment in Nigeria, using the University of Calabar as a case study. A combination of structured questionnaires, titled students' Opinion Questionnaire and review of extant literatures and theoretical framework, was used for the study. The resulting data showed that the tertiary institutions have not significantly contributed to mitigating unemployment through entrepreneurial education, judging from the low students' acquisition of entrepreneurial skills, their limited exposure to business opportunities and difficulty in sourcing funds to ensure utilization of any acquired skills after graduation. Contribution/Originality: The paper's primary contribution is finding that that the tertiary institutions have not significantly contributed to mitigating unemployment through entrepreneurial education, judging from the low students' acquisition of entrepreneurial skills, their limited exposure to business opportunities and difficulty in sourcing funds to ensure utilization of any acquired skills after graduation.

Empirical Analysis of the Global Supply and Demand of Entrepreneurial Finance: A Random Utility Theory Perspective

“…The opposite is then observed when much of the labor force is already absorbed by existing established enterprises, which wage payments allow individuals to satisfy their wants without the potential need to undertake additional entrepreneurial ventures to supplement their income [44]. Indeed, as Figures A3 and A4 in the Appendix B show that, globally, saving and borrowing for entrepreneurial purposes does appear to be more prevalent in the developing world, much of which in Africa and Asia where unemployment rates are typically relatively higher [45].…”

“…Conversely, individuals with natural entrepreneurial spirits often fail to undertake much schooling, as they perceive the formal educational system to not meet their learning needs, while individuals with a low level of education and potentially no initial entrepreneurial drive might feel compelled to resort to entrepreneurship to support their livelihood, especially in times of limited labor market opportunities and high unemployment [15,16]. These latter findings seem to further suggest a potential need for formal education curricula to properly address the art and science of entrepreneurship, to allow graduates to globally develop entrepreneurial mindsets [45].…”