INFLUENCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION ON EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS AMONG BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITIES OF NORTH-EAST, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the influence of entrepreneurship education on employability skills of undergraduate Business Education students in universities of North-East Nigeria. Six objectives, six research questions, and six null hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The target population consisted of 1,323 300-level Business Education students from three universities: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, University of Maiduguri, and Modibbo Adama University Yola. A sample of 116 students was selected using proportionate stratified sampling. Data collection employed a structured questionnaire titled "Questionnaire on Entrepreneurship Education on Employability Skills," validated by experts with a reliability coefficient of 0.827 (Cronbach Alpha). Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) addressed the research questions, while simple linear regression analyzed the six null hypotheses at the 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that entrepreneurship education positively and significantly influenced students’ creativity (grand mean = 3.09, SD = 1.37, p < 0.05), innovation (grand mean = 3.02, SD = 1.40, p < 0.05), opportunity and recognition (grand mean = 3.02, SD = 1.44, p < 0.05), risk-assessment (grand mean = 3.04, SD = 1.44, p < 0.05), business plan and strategy (grand mean = 2.97, SD = 1.41, p < 0.05), and financial management skills (grand mean = 3.08, SD = 1.42, p < 0.05). Regression findings confirmed statistically significant models, for example: creativity (F = 21.247, p < 0.05), innovation (F = 40.570, p < 0.05), opportunity recognition (F = 6.236, p < 0.05), risk-assessment (F = 8.381, p < 0.05), business plan and strategy (F = 35.165, p < 0.05), and financial management (F = 43.136, p < 0.05). The results also indicated that students exposed to entrepreneurship education developed superior practical employability skills. The study concluded that entrepreneurship education enhances employability competencies, specifically, creativity, innovation, opportunity recognition, risk assessment, business planning, and financial management among business education students in the target universities. It is recommended that universities and instructors should further incorporate practical, experiential learning strategies (such as creativity workshops, innovation labs, mentorship, business plan development, risk management simulations, and financial literacy exercises) within entrepreneurship curricula to ensure students develop robust employability skills for the contemporary workforce.