IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION ON JOB CREATION AND EMPLOYABILITY OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the impact of entrepreneurship education on job creation and employability of undergraduate students of higher institutions of learning in Kwara State, Nigeria. Four objectives were raised and translated to research questions to guide the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study and 9,283 was considered asthe target populations comprising male and female students. A sample size of 361 respondents wasselected. Multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted to select respondents that will be participate in the study. At the firststage, a clustersampling technique would be used to sample higher institutions offering Entrepreneurship as a compulsory general course within Kwara State. At the second stage, stratified sampling would be adopted, because the population was group or divided into higher institution of learning: University of Ilorin and Kwara State University. A self-developed questionnaire was used as the research instrument for data collection. The reliability test of the questionnaire was done using test retest technique and a co-efficient 0.87 was obtained. The administration of the instrument was done by the researcher and three field research assistants. The administration of the instrument was carried out by the researchers and three volunteer field research assistants. The data collected was analyzed using mean rating and standard deviation. One of the findings revealed that the provision training that enables students acquire specialized skills, to acquire skills for self-reliance and for manpower training are the factors responsible for implementation of entrepreneurship education and job creation. It is therefore, recommended that entrepreneurship education providers should encourage more participation in vocational training that enables students acquire specialized skills for self-reliance and manpower training.