1.1 Introduction
The entrepreneurship education refers to many things to variation of people as applicable to their values and observations of what it means to them. Nwabuama (2004) sees entrepreneurship education as the identification of the general characteristics of entrepreneurs and how potential entrepreneurs can be trained in management techniques needed for effective performance of persons for long time service of an organization after the acquisition of occupational skills. For Ebele (2008), entrepreneurship education is the teaching of knowledge and a skill that enables the students to plan, start and run their own business.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Entrepreneurship as a concept was first established in the 1700s and has evolved steadily as a field of academic, business and social interests over the years. Alvarez (1996) in the 1980s referred to entrepreneurship as being a worldwide movement spreading across different countries. Different definitions have been accorded to entrepreneurship over the years by academic scholars and practitioners in the field which gives different perspectives to the concept thus making the comparison of researches a daunting task. However, in the last one decade, the concept of entrepreneurship has evolved from a formative stage into a clear research field due to rigorous empirical studies it has attracted from different academic domains (Stewart, Watson, Carland, & Carland, 1998).
Moving closer to the 1980s, Timmons (1989) defined entrepreneurship as the ability to create and build something from practically nothing. Venkataraman (1997) defines entrepreneurship as a field of study which involves the scholarly examination of how, by whom, and with what effects opportunities to create future goods and services are discovered, evaluated and exploited. Thus, entrepreneurship is perceived and presented in existing literature as the principal force responsible for driving growth and productivity in firms (Aloulou & Fayolle, 2005) and a country’s economy (Dickson, Solomon, & Weaver, 2008). It is considered to be the engine of growth and driver of social development in most advance economies of the world (Audretsch & Thurik, 2006).
However, despite the recognition of entrepreneurship as having the potential to curb unemployment among Nigerian youth and the introduction of entrepreneurship education in Nigerian universities, about 80% of the Nigerian youth are unemployed and about 10% are under employed with 7 out of 10 graduates remaining unemployed or underemployed (Dike, 2009). As the former minister of labour and productivity Adelokunbo Kayode has asserted, “the greatest challenge confronting government today remains massive unemployment which has served as a breeding ground for anti-social vices” in Nigeria (Olayinka, 2010).
In today's competitive and challenging global world with diverse demands, many countries are facing serious problems of graduate unemployment (Adesina, 2013). As a result, the higher education sectors are under immense pressure from governments, employers and parents to produce quality graduates that can be economically engaged at the individual, national and global level (Teichler, 2007). Such graduates should possess a combination of attributes that will enable them to take an adaptive and proactive approach to their careers (Bezuidenhout, 2011). While there is consensus worldwide on the importance of addressing employability within higher education, there remains some debate on how best this can be achieved (Harvey, and Morey, 2002). This paper will suggest initiatives to be taken by the to make sure that every stakeholder (including the government, higher education institutions, industry and commerce, employers, professional bodies, parents and the students) play its part in ensuring that graduates are able to find or create employment sustainably.
Although many countries are faced with problems of unemployment in general (Adesina, 2013), the scope of this paper is limited to graduate employability. A graduate here refers to someone who has a bachelor's or higher degree from a higher education institution (HEI). The rationale for focusing on graduate employability arises from the realisation that governments, employers and communities are increasingly interested in what HEIs have to offer as a source of recruitment and for the development of existing employees (Keech, 2006). In part, this has been driven by a growing awareness of the potential of HEIs in the development of knowledge based economies and driving innovation and national development (Escrigas 2008). The significant role that entrepreneurship plays in creating new ventures, opportunity recognition, small business growth, employment generation has been well established empirically in the entrepreneurship literature (Aldrich & Cliff, 2003; Carland, Hoy, Boulton, Carland, 2004).
Therefore, in Lagos State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to identify the Impact of Entrepreneur Centers on the Acquisition of Entrepreneur Skills among Students.
1.3 Statement of Problems
One of the possible causes for this lack is that the education in Nigeria addresses only output end of capacity development solving problem. In addressing the input and therefore, a complimentary approach is needed. In developed economies or industrialized economies for instance, the education system emphasizes the trail of inquiry-discovery application in teaching and students to perceive problems (including societal problems) as challenges and opportunities that can be turned into goods and services of commercial value (Adejimola & Olufumilayo, 2009, Giwa 2000, and Adeyemi 2006). One of the approaches to achieve the contending in Nigeria is teaching and research at entrepreneurship and innovation centres by universities and other tertiary institutions and the promotion of universities-private sector collaboration. This should involve developing the capacity of staff and students in entrepreneurship and innovation, engaging in outreach activities with small and medium enterprises through such interventions as business incubators. Training entrepreneurs and conducting research and consultancies are inevitable as it pertains to entrepreneurial, industrial and economic growth in Nigeria.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to evaluate the Impact of Entrepreneur Centers on the Acquisition of Entrepreneur Skills among Students in Lagos State University. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To provide the students with adequate training that will enable them to be creative and innovative in identifying great business opportunities.
- To offer functional education to the youths to enable them to be well empowered and self-reliant people in their own right.
- To serve as catalyst for economic growth and development in Lagos State
- To investigate the impact of entrepreneurial knowledge on entrepreneurial intentions.
- To provide the students with enough training skills and support that will enable them to establish a career in small and medium size business.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Does entrepreneur Centers provide students in Lagos State with adequate training that will enable them to be creative and innovative?
- Is students provided with enough training skills and support that will enable them to establish a career in small and medium size business?
- What is the functional education to the youths to enable them to be well empowered and self-reliant people in their own right?
- What is the impact of entrepreneurial knowledge on entrepreneurial intentions?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: Students in Lagos State are not provided with enough entrepreneurial training skills and support that will enable them to establish a career in small and medium size business
- H1: Students in Lagos State are provided with enough entrepreneurial training skills and support that will enable them to establish a career in small and medium size business
Hypothesis Two
- H0: Entrepreneur Centers does not provide students in Lagos State with adequate training that will enable them to be creative and innovative
- H1: Entrepreneur Centers provides students in Lagos State with adequate training that will enable them to be creative and innovative
1.7 Significance of Study
The focus of the study is primarily on training development of students in Entrepreneurship Centers in Lagos State Metropolis as they contribute towards the realization of the set objective of the Entrepreneur Centers and various ways through which training and development were conducted for the students.
Generally therefore the study focuses on how training and development can help in solving the problem of unemployment. The importance of the study endeavor it to highlight Entrepreneur Centers accord much emphases on the training and development and why it is regarded as a vital human resources management system.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Impact of Entrepreneur Centers on the Acquisition of Entrepreneur Skills among Students in Lagos State University.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
Impact: Impact is defined as the action of one object coming forcibly into contact with another or a marked effect or influence.
Organization: An organization or organization is an entity comprising multiple people, such as an institution or an association, which has a collective goal and is linked to an external environment
Creativity: Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible or a physical object.
Innovation: Innovation is often also viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs.
Entrepreneurial: entrepreneurial is a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.
Entrepreneurship education: Seeks to provide students with the knowledge, skills and motivation to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings. Variations of entrepreneurship education are offered at all levels of schooling from primary or secondary schools through graduate university programs.
Job creation: The process of providing new jobs, especially for people who are unemployed, the government's job creation strategy.
Skills acquisition: The ability to learn or acquire skills. It involves the development of a new skill, practice of a way of doing things usually gained through training or experience.
