ASSESSMENT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS NEEDED BY TERTIARY INSTITUTION GRADUATES TO ESTABLISH AND MANAGE SMALLSCALE BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is believed to be a driving engine for the economic development of many nations. The main purpose of this study is to assess the entrepreneurial skills needed by NCE graduates to establish and manage small-scale businesses in Oyo town. A descriptive survey research design which involves the collection of information from stakeholders was used for this study. The target population of the study comprised 58 lecturers from the school of Vocational and Technical and 10 entrepreneurship lecturers from the School of Education at Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo. A sample size of six eight (68) representing area was used for this study since the population is not much. A structured questionnaire developed based on the formulated research questions was used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The study revealed that entrepreneurial skills such as business administrative/management skills, sales and marketing skills, digital skills, creative and critical thinking skills, financial skills, and vocational/technical skills are needed to effectively establish and manage a small-scale business. It was recommended that the teaching of entrepreneurship education in tertiary institutions should be made practical-oriented. Students should be allowed to express their business skills and not be discouraged.