ENTREPRENEUR MENTORING OF UNDERGRADUATE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN BAYELSA STATE

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of entrepreneurship mentoring among undergraduates of business education in Bayelsa state. Three specific objectives were to determine the influence of an entrepreneurship education on the ability of business education undergraduates of Bayelsa state to establish a new business, among others. To achieve these objectives three research questions were formulated from the objective to guide the researcher, one among others was, what is the influence of an entrepreneurship education on the ability of business education undergraduates of Bayelsa state to establish new business? A descriptive survey design was used and the population of the study were sixty-six(66) students undergraduates from business education Undergraduates in the year 2013. A purposive sampling technique of twenty-nine (29) students was used as the sample size of the study. The instrument for data collection was basically questionnaire which was validated by the experts. A pilot study of thirty(30) students from Federal College of Education  was conducted to determine the reliability of the instrument and coefficient correlation of 0.80 was obtained. The administration of sixty-six (66) copies of the questionnaire to the respondents was done by the researcher through the means of google mailing (Gmail) and they were filled and sent back the responses. A descriptive statistics of frequency distribution of percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the research questions of the study. Chi-square(X²⁾ was used to test the null hypotheses which revealed among others, entrepreneurship education significantly influenced the ability of business education undergraduates of Bayelsa state to establish new businesses. The researcher concluded that entrepreneurial knowledge and skills if it’s not adequately taught and acquired by business education undergraduates would not enable them to establish, manage and sustain new businesses. The researcher recommended among others, that undergraduates should use the knowledge and skills of entrepreneurship acquired to establish, manage and sustain their own businesses, since they had been taught and trained all the necessary knowledge and skills in various vocation and occupation that will make them to be “job makers” not “job seekers”.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1: Background of the Study

Business education is a course that prepares for entry into an advancement in jobs within business and it is equally important because its prepare students to handle their own business affairs and to function intelligently as consumers and citizens in a business economy. It is an educational program that equips an individual with functional and suitable skills, knowledge, attitude and value that would enable him/her operate in the environment he/she finds himself/herself. It is therefore, to note that the major objectives of business education are to provide employment. Business education undergraduates are men or women who have complete business education program in the university. The first task is to teach and participate in business in order to educate others and to sustain themselves. Business education is form of training which helps to achieve all the aims of education at any level of learning. Business education include education for office occupation, distribution and marketing occupation, teaching business subjects, business administration and economics understanding.

According Adamu (2008), business education is that education which assists student to develop positive attitude, innovation, and skills for reliance, rather than depending on the government for employment. This will produce undergraduates with self-confidence and capacity for independent through discovering new information leading to economic development.

Emaraton and Obundike (2008) in Agu (2006) opined that business education is the type of education designed to change the orientation and attitude of the recipients and in the process will equip them with skills and knowledge to enable start and manage business enterprise. Unemployment especially among the Youth has become a global challenge. There appears has become no country in the world that is not affected directly or indirectly by the challenges of unemployment. The peaceful and prosperous nation suffers from illegal migration and terrorisms from nation that is plagued by high level of unemployment rates and terrorism. Education has always been canvassed as one of the most visible ways out of poverty but this assertion is becoming invalid with the increasing number of unemployed university graduates. It is now obvious that except citizenry is exposed to the right education, unemployment would remain unabated.

Entrepreneurship is considered to be a key factor in promoting economic development, innovation, competitiveness, wealth and value creation. Entrepreneurship is the willingness and ability of an individual to seek out an investment opportunity in an environment and able to establish, manage and sustain a business enterprise successfully based on the identified opportunities so as to meet the ever changing needs of the society.

Entrepreneurship education is an education that plays a very vital role in addressing the challenges posted by unemployment in the country(Nigeria). In order to make Nigerian undergraduates more resourceful and self-reliance, Federal Ministry of Education introduced entrepreneurship education into curricula of the universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education through the regulatory and supervisory agencies- National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE). This becomes expedient in order to offer a realistic approach to solving the endemic problem of unemployment facing the nation. Thus, entrepreneurship education is developing since being made a compulsory course for all students in three hundred level of tertiary education students irrespective of student’s area of specialization.

However, in Bayelsa state  (ABU, ), precisely in business education section has made an entrepreneurship education a core course that is not strictly at only three level (300 level) only, rather they were three courses of entrepreneurship education to be offered including the one offering at three hundred level before graduating. These entrepreneurship education courses are:

• Introduction to Entrepreneurship Education (GENS 202) 200 level.
• Entrepreneurship in Business Education (VTEB 210) 200 level.
• Entrepreneurship Education in Business Creation and Growth (GENS 301) 300 level.

The above mentioned courses enable the students to acquire a broad set of knowledge and competencies that can produce a greater social and awareness with the natural and artificial resources for them to be self-reliance. According to Raposo and Paco (2011), entrepreneurship education prepares the youth to be responsible and enterprising. In similar vein, UNESCO (2008), viewed educational entrepreneurship as well as kind of experiences that give student the ability and vision of how to access and transform opportunities of different kinds.

In essence, educational entrepreneurship provides a platform for youth to transform opportunities to business ventures and to manage those ventures to become a medium for job creation for themselves and others. Enu (2012) argues that the ultimate goal of educational entrepreneurship is all about increasing the students’ ability to anticipate and respond to societal changes. In other words, through educational entrepreneurship, students were equipped to deploy their creativity of the larger society. They are also empires to take initiatives, responsibilities and risks.

Entrepreneurship skills or entrepreneurial skills are those activities that will enable an entrepreneur to establish, manage, and sustain his own enterprise. The entrepreneurship skills are those skills, knowledge, attitude, and behavior that will enable an entrepreneur to identify business opportunities, stimulates creativity, and transform an idea into practical economic activities for suitable development of livelihood. These skills are business planning skills, business management skills and innovation creativity in order to run an enterprise successfully which will lead to wealth and value creation.

Business planning skills: -This is an activity which involves decision about aims and objectives, means conducts or policies and result by the entrepreneur in any business enterprise. It is the activity that takes place against the background of the organizational strengths and weaknesses within and outsides the business environment.

Business management skills: -This is the ability of an entrepreneur to set and achieve an objective through planning, organizing, and controlling the available resources in order to be effective and efficient within the business environment.

Innovation and creativity: -These are the unique qualities and elements of an entrepreneur which been able to think for an entire new ways and identify opportunities that make connections between seemingly unrelated events or situation, often come up with solution or new idea which is the synthesis of other items. They will repurpose products to market them to new industries.

Self-employability: - This is the combination of the ability to establish, manage, and sustain a new business in order self-reliance. Employability has in recent times remained the focus of government, employers, job seekers, and educators. Brown and Hesketh (2004), explained employability is the relative chances of getting and maintaining different kinds of employment.

For individual’s employability depends on the knowledge, skills, and ability (KSA) they possess, the way they present those assets to employment and context (e.g. personal circumstances and labor market environment) within which they employed.

A major concern of undergraduates is what constitutes employability skills. According to Kazilan, Hamzah and Bakar (2009), employability skills which synonymous with entrepreneurial skills refers to a group of important skills instilled in each individual to become a productive workforce. According Pollard as cited in Imeokparia and Endiagbonya (2012), employability refers to a person’s capability for gaining and maintaining employment. Entrepreneurial skills are the skills needed by an employee or employer of labor. Specially, entrepreneurial skills are very important for success in self-employment.

1.2: Statement to the Problem.

Undergraduates who have knowledge of an entrepreneurship education and skills can be able to establish, manage, and sustain a new business in order to be self-employed and boost the economic growth. Experience over the years has revealed that seventy percent (70%) these undergraduates end of roaming about the streets as a result of lack of job opportunities. The employment rate of the country (Nigeria) keeps escalating as each year comes as a result of continuous injection of undergraduates who have no jobs to do at the end of the day. This situation has become so pathetic because of job seekers/applicants and of going back to their aged parents who have invested in them, hoping that someday they will get back the dividend of their investments but all to no avail. This cankerworm (unemployment) which has eaten deep into the fabric of the society must be reversed to avoid national crisis. The unfortunate was attributed to under development and a value orientation which relies on government for job opportunities. Magaji (2010) attributed this problem to the inadequacies of our educational system which produces “job seekers” instead of “job makers”. Therefore, this study will empirically investigate the “assessment of entrepreneurship education on self-employability Among business education undergraduates of In Bayelsa state”.

 

1.3: Objectives of the Study. 

The main objectives of this study is to assess the influence of Entrepreneurship Education on the Self- Employability Among Business Education Undergraduates In Bayelsa state.

The specific objectives are:

• To assess the influence of an Entrepreneurship Education on the ability of Bayelsa state Business Education Undergraduates to establish a new business.
• To assess the influence of an Entrepreneurship Education on the ability of Bayelsa state Business Education Undergraduates to manage a new business.
• To assess the influence of an Entrepreneurship Education on the ability of Bayelsa state Business Education Undergraduates to sustain a new business.

1.4: Research Questions.

• What is the influence of an Entrepreneurship Education on the ability of Bayelsa state Business Education Undergraduates to establish a new business?
• What is the influence of an Entrepreneurship Education on the ability of Bayelsa state Business Education Undergraduates to manage a new business?
• what is the influence of an Entrepreneurship Education on the ability of Bayelsa state

University Business Education Undergraduates to sustain a new business?

1.5: Hypotheses.

Ho₁: Entrepreneurship Education has no significant influence on the ability of Bayelsa state Business Education Undergraduates to establish a new business.

Ho₂: Entrepreneurship Education has no significant influence on the ability of Bayelsa state Business Education Undergraduates to manage a new business.

Ho₃: Entrepreneurship Education has no significant influence on the ability of Bayelsa state Business Education Undergraduates to sustain a new business.

1.6: Significance of the Study.

This research “Assessment of Entrepreneurship Education on Self-Employability Among Business Education Undergraduates of in Bayelsa state” will be of great importance to the entire society, government, those studying business education programmed as well as those intending to study the programmed.

The main important of this study to the society as the business will be based on sustainable development of immediate environment and consumer satisfaction. This in turn create job to the society, increase wealth, and values as well as improve the wellbeing of that society.

In respect of government, this will be a great important in the sense that may serves as sources of income or revenue through payments of taxes, means of supply to the business organization which in turns curtail unemployment problems and reduces the burden of reliance on government job and also raises the standard of living and gross national product thereby leading to vibrant economy.

Finally, to those undergoing business education programmed (graduates), it will help them to be self-employed thereby encouraging them to start up their own enterprise not waiting for a white collar job, because they had been trained for various profession that enable them choose suitable vocation or occupation.

1.7: Basic Assumption of the Study.

The assumption of this study “Assessment of Entrepreneurship Education on Self-

Employability Among Business Education Undergraduates of In Bayelsa state” are as follows:

• The knowledge and skills acquired by the business educator will make an impact for selfemployability after graduation.
• The knowledge and skills acquired from entrepreneurship education will provide the competencies of establishing new business by the undergraduates of business education.
• It is also enhancing the ability of undergraduates of business education in managing business enterprise through the accurate skills and knowledge acquired.
• It helps to develop the ability of sustaining new business environment and self-reliance.

 

1.8: Delimitation of the Study. 

This study “Assessment of Entrepreneurship Education on Self-Employability Among

Business Education Undergraduates of In Bayelsa state” is only delimited to undergraduates of 2013 of business education, in business education section, department of vocational and technical education, faculty of education, In Bayelsa state.

1.9: Operational Definition of Terms.

1. Entrepreneur: - A person could be able to initiate or create a new business in order to bear the risk of his/her establishment.
2. Graduates: - A student that have undergraduates from business education of Bayelsa state in the year 2013.
3. Self-Employability: - Ability to establish, manage and sustain a new business.

1.10: Abbreviations.

1. KSA: - Knowledge Skills and Abilities.
2. UNESCO: - United Nations of Educational Scientifics and Cultural Organization.
3. NUC: - National Universities Commission.
4. NBTE: - National Board for Technical Education
5. NCCE: - National Commission for Colleges of Education.
6. ENTREPRENEUR MENTORING OF UNDERGRADUATE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN BAYELSA STATE

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