CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

            Higher Education, as defined by National policy of Education (1998). Defined higher education as the education given after secondary education in Universities, Colleges of education, Polytechnics, Monotechnics, including those institutions offering corresponding courses. The rate of economic growth is dependent upon the growth in the factors of production and the rate of technical change. Recently, some economist have shifted the emphasis away from the increase of physical capital to the expansion of high level of manpower such as entrepreneurship development. The major obstacle to the economic development of developing countries is not so much a shortage of capital as a lack of absorptive capacity in part from shortage of skills and knowledge needed to mobilized, organize and coordinate capital and other resources of production.

In view of the above important role of entrepreneurship education in economic development of any society, state and country at large cannot be over emphasized. The goals of tertiary education in Nigeria as spelt out by the policy are to contribute to national development through high level skills of relevant manpower training, to develop and inculcate proper values to student for the survival of individual and the society as well as to develop the intellectual capability of individuals to understand and appreciate their local and external environment, to acquire both theoretical and technical skills which will enable individuals to be self-reliance and useful members of the society, to promote and encourage participation of entrepreneurship skill and render services to urban area, to forge and cement national unity and to promote national and international medium of trade by means of enhancing international relationship.

Entrepreneurship can be considered as a creative activity. William G et al (2002) stated that entrepreneurship is accepting the risk of starting and running a business. It is the ability and willingness of an individual to create and build something that is virtually not existing.    

In this later sense, entrepreneurship takes premium over capital. It is equally more fundamental than capital because capital formation is the result of entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurs are therefore regarded as central figures in economic development and job creator. Their contribution run through labour actions, movement of capital creation of jobs goods conversion of raw materials into finished products and ultimately, effective distribution of the products to final consumers.   

Entrepreneurs are therefore those who create jobs and search to discover economic opportunities, marshal the financial and other resources necessary for the development of the opportunities, evaluate alternatives available in the environment and allocate resources to the most profitable ones as well as take the ultimate responsibility for the management and or successful execution of opportunities. An Entrepreneur is somewhat comfortable with taking and assuming risk which are impassioned with the dream being pursued. He or she knows where to get help, and when it is needed as well as being ever ready to receive changes in the business surrounding environment (Schumpeter, 1994).

Consequently, institutions of higher learning in Nigeria are expected to commence training high level manpower whose characteristics are usually obsessive, focused, articulate and resourceful. In this way graduated youths will turn out to be typically charismatic leaders and tend to be introspective in skills of job creation, wealth generation and innovative skill utilization.

Both private and public institutions of higher learning besides, empowers Nigerian graduate youths towards wealth creation, employment generation poverty reduction and value re-orientation are foremost cardinal point for strategic macro-economic framework. (Akinwumi 2005). This also reflects in the recent increase in the demand for educational programmes in entrepreneurship studies in the country”s tertiary institutions, parastatals and non-governmental paradigms. If fully satisfied, this new vision and values would shine the spotlight on small and medium scale enterprise activities in Nigeria.

Higher Institutions are therefore, to properly train individual youths who have the right tools to commerce and grow a successful business with less risk of failure. It is same vein, activities of youths contributes to urban and rural development through the skills acquired in higher education.

Higher institutions in Nigeria have been saddled with the responsibility of training both youths and nation”s professional personnel such as managers, scientists, engineers and technicians who participate in the development adaptation diffusion of innovations in the country. The training of graduated youths for entrepreneurial skills correlate with economic development. However, matching the quality of the products of institutions of higher learning in the country at present with the country”s higher educational laudable goals simply reveals that the Nigerian nation has not yet found her path on what was planned for it through higher education in terms of preparing the youths for entrepreneurship. In view of this, the research is aimed at assessing the extent to which entrepreneurship education development in Nigeria has really succeeded in preparing graduated youths for entrepreneurship and creation of jobs for undergraduates and the nation at large.

1.2 Statement of Research Problem

During the colonial era, paid employment has not been an area of concern in Nigerian. Most society view paid employment as slavery. It was a tradition in Nigerian society that any man who had to rely on another for his livelihood was regarded by others as slave. But with civilization and growing demands of goods and services the scenario has changed. Lack of improved technology has also contributed to the backwardness of entrepreneurship education development in Nigeria society. As the need and call for entrepreneurship increases day-by-day, the development of entrepreneurship education has been installed in the last few years, this is because of the lack of job facing the graduated youths in the nation at large. The problem affecting youths and the development of entrepreneurship in Arochukwu is the inability to identify variables, and executable projects, lack of capital to push ideas into reality, low level of entrepreneurship education taught in the past few years, high decrees of business uncertainty, indifference of financial houses and financial risk, problem of land acquisition. Okoye I. (2014). The need of financial support from commercial banks has grossly inadequate for building indigenous entrepreneurs for job creation and even for those who have been in the manufacturing industries for long-term.

            Therefore, this research work attempt to assess the impact of entrepreneurship education development on the creation of job opportunities to graduate youths in Arochukwu, Abia State.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The objective of this study are;

1.         To examine the extent to which entrepreneurship activities have create job opportunities in Arochukwu, Abia State.

2.         To highlight the extent to which entrepreneurial studies influences the development of student”s intellectual skill for entrepreneurship.

3.         To identify the areas and variable that influences entrepreneurship development for job creation and extract the causes of unemployment.

4.         To determine how entrepreneurship studies has create, promote and deliver entrepreneurial awareness and opportunities.

1.4 Research Questions

In order to successfully achieve the above objective the question below were raised to guide the study:

1.         Has entrepreneurial studies been influential in Arochukwu in the area of job creation and job opportunities?

2.         To what extent has entrepreneurship education facilitate the development of student”s intellectual skill for entrepreneurship?

3.         Does entrepreneurship education have an identified areas or variable for job creation?

4.         How could entrepreneurial awareness and opportunities be create and promoted in Arochukwu, Abia State?

1.5 Scope/limitation of the Study

This study focuses on assessing the impact of entrepreneur education development on the creation of job opportunities to graduate youths in Arochukwu, Abia State and it is aimed at determining the extent which graduates have been entrepreneurially influenced by means of creating job opportunities for graduate”s youths. In the process of carrying out this research work, the researcher encountered numbers of constraints. These include:

Time constraint, which happened to be the major limitation encountered in the process of carrying out the work. Secondly the researcher was faced with the challenges of sourcing data for the research work.  Unwillingness by some of the students to disclose information requested from them.

1.6 Hypothesis

Ho:       there is no significant effect of entrepreneurship education development studies in the area of job creation and job opportunities in Arochukwu, Abia State.

Hi:        there is significant effect of entrepreneurship education development studies in the area of job creation and job opportunities in Arochukwu, Abia State.

Ho:       there is no significant effect of entrepreneurial education development of student”s intellectual skill for entrepreneurship in Arochukwu, Abia State

Hi:        there is significant effect of entrepreneurial education development of student”s intellectual skill for entrepreneurship in Arochukwu, Abia State.

1.7 Significance of the Study

This study is significant for providing relevant information on the need to improve on entrepreneurship education towards proper preparation of undergraduates for the world of work and job creation in society and the nation at large.

It will also be a sensitization document to undergraduates and anybody who accesses it 0r the paramount importance of going for entrepreneurship skills education development programs to create job opportunities in order to eradicate poverty in the society and to acquire relevant skills that will enable one survive in a depressed economy.

The results of the study are also meant to create a high level of awareness among prospective graduates on the relevance of entrepreneurship education.

The study is also significant for articulating the need for education planners and Nigeria tertiary institutions to direct effort at inculcating skills for job creation.

1.8       Definitions of common terms

Entrepreneurship: this can be described as a creative and innovative response to the environment such responses can take place in any field of social endeavor, for instance in business, industries, agriculture, education, social works and the like.

Economic development: this can be seen as a process whereby the real capital per income of a given economy increases over a period of time.

Depressed; (of a place or an industry) without enough economic activity or jobs to depressed area.

Innovate: to introduce new things, ideas, or ways of doing it.

Spelt; is define as an old kind of wheat with bearded ears and spikelet”s that each contain two harrow gains, not widely grow but favoured as a health food.

Inculcate: to cause (something) to be leaned by (something) by repeating it again and again.

Intellectual: is define as a person who engages in critical study, thought, and reflection about the reality of society, and propose solution for the normative problems of that society, and by such discourse in the public sphere, him or her again authority with the public opinion.

Marshal: to gather together and organize the people, thing, ideas, etc. that you need for a particular purpose.

Aspiring: wanting to start the career or activity that is mention: An entrepreneurial need hour of practice every day

Sensitize: (technical) to make sensitive to physical or chemical change.