Entrepreneurship Education and Self-employment Intentions among Fresh Graduates in Nigeria

Abstract

Over a decade, the Nigeria Federal government introduced entrepreneurship development programmes in the country’s tertiary institutions with the primary objective of gearing entrepreneurship development of Nigerian graduates. However, the unemployment level in Nigeria has persistently been on increase level. This paper therefore examined the key determinants of entrepreneurship intentions and the link between entrepreneurship attitude orientations and business ownership intentions among Nigeria’s fresh graduates. This study utilized a survey research design. Data used for this study were collected using questionnaire from 230 randomly selected National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) members serving in Ondo state. Appropriate descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were employed to analyse the data collected. This study showed that entrepreneurship education (β = 0.165; ρ = 0.038), ability to take risk (β = 0.291; ρ = 0.000), and the influence of family, friends, and mentor (β = 0.305; ρ = 0.00) were the major determinants of entrepreneurial intentions the selected participants. Moreso, this study revealed that entrepreneurship education has a positive and significant(r = 0.313; ρ = 0.000) influence on fresh graduates’ business start-up intention. This study concluded that establishment of more skills acquisition and innovation centers across Nigeria to equip the young graduates with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to be self-reliant will assist in making them job creators rather than job seekers, and in the long term effect, graduates unemployment and criminal activities among Nigerian youths will be reduced.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship Education, Self-employment Intentions, Fresh Graduates, Nigeria.