Abstract
This study examined undergraduate and graduates perceptions of factors
responsible for youths unemployment in Lagos State. The study was carried out
among graduates in national directorate of employment and undergraduate
students of the University of Lagos, Akoka. A sample size of 150 respondents
were selected for the study. Structured questionnaire was used for data
collection. The collected questionnaires were analyzed using frequency counts.
and percentages. The research questions were answered using mean (x) scores and
weighted mean. The study revealed that entrepreneurial
education in the institution was an important tool for employment creation,
also inadequate indigenous companies causes unemployment in Nigeria. Again,
there are several challenges facing Nigerian
graduates in their quest at becoming entrepreneurs. Such challenges are: lack
of enabling environment and good governance. Base on the findings, it
was recommended that Federal
Government should increase its financial participation that will attract loans
for the entrepreneurs and that universities must design
specific and practical entrepreneurial short courses, which could run for four
to six months to create awareness about job creation.
TABLE
OF CONTENT
Title i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of Content vi
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Background to the Study 1
- 6
1.2 Statement of Problem 6
1.3 Purpose of the Study 6
- 7
1.4 Research Questions 7
1.5 Significance of the Study 8
1.7 Scope of the Study 9
1.8 Definition of Terms 9- 10
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE
REVIEW
2.0
Introduction 11
2.1
Employment
11-13
2.2
Unemployment
13 - 17
2.3
Underemployment
17 - 22
2.4
Reasons
for unemployment 22 - 25
2.5
Problems
of unemployment in Nigeria 28 - 36
2.6
Role
of career guidance in reducing youth unemployment 36 - 39
2.7
Efforts
at employment and creation of jobs in Nigeria: case study of National
Directorate of Education NDE 39 - 43
CHAPTER
THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction 44
3.1 Research Design 44
3.2 Population of the study 45
3.3 Sampling and Sampling Technique 45
3.4 Research Instrument 45
3.5 Validation of research instrument 46
3.6 Method of Data Collection 46
3.7 Method of Data Analyses 46
CHAPTER
FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
4.1 Introduction 47
A.
Bio-data of the Respondents 47 - 49
B. Analysis of the Research Questions 49 - 55
4.2 Discussion of Findings 55 - 58
CHAPTER
FIVE: DISCUSSION, SUMMARY, CONCLUSION
AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary 59 - 60
5.2 Conclusion 60
5.3 Recommendations 60 - 61
References 62 - 66
Appendix 67 - 69
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background to the Study
In
Nigeria, unemployment of graduates has become a teething problem .The scourge
which has often caused problems for government in industrialized nations
elsewhere is now assuming gigantic dimension in Nigeria. Graduate unemployment
in our country is cumulative. It increases as institutions turn out graduates
annually. The rate at which young people are leaving school and seeking
employment continuously outpaces the capacity of the economy to provide
employment. The value system of the Nigerian society has changed due to the
transition from school to work to earn a living. This is because Nigeria that
once harbored aliens from west African countries and beyond for employment is
currently recording high rate of unemployment (Anyaogu, 2009). The scourge of graduate
unemployment in Nigeria is blamed on the university curriculum which has been
geared towards stereotyped goals and jobs without adequate practical work. In
other words, graduates from our universities acquire knowledge without
entrepreneurial skills which would enable them, on graduation to practice what
was learnt in school, create jobs for themselves and others and participate in
economic development in Nigeria.
However,
Awogbenle and Iwuamadi (2010) observed from the excerpts of statistics obtained
from the National Manpower Board and Federal Bureau of Statistics showed that
Nigeria has a youth population of eighty (80) million representing 60 percent
of the total population of the country. Sixty four (64) million of them are
unemployed while one million six hundred thousand (1.6 million) are
underemployed.
In order to make university education
functional, relevant and practical, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through
the National Universities Commission (NUC) made entrepreneurship education a
compulsory course for all undergraduate students in Nigerian universities. .The
aim of the policy is to ginger in the students entrepreneurial spirit that will
help to curb the increasing rate of graduate unemployment. Tulgan (1999) states
that the primary purpose of entrepreneurial education is to develop in the learners
entrepreneurial capacities and mindsets. This will help graduates to recognize
business opportunities, mobilize resources and exploit the opportunity for
self- employment which will be beneficial for community and national
development (Uche et al., 2009).
Mathabathe (2006) notes that one of the
causes of graduate unemployment is the shortfall or mismatch between the skills
students develop during their courses and the skills that employers need.
Graduates should not only acquire skills, but such skills should also be
relevant to changing labour market needs. Grisel and Parker (2009) assert that
in South Africa, there is a common misunderstanding between higher education
and the work place about the role of each other. Employers complain about the
quality of university graduates. Higher education however feels that employers
are not fully appreciative of the qualities and skills graduate possess.
According to Hancock et al. (2009), the
skills learned by students during their academic career can be placed into the
two broad skill categories: (1) Technical and (2) Non-technical. Technical
skills refer to subject-specific or content specific knowledge and competence
that are relevant to a particular discipline. Non-technical skills are those
skills which are relevant across many different jobs or professions.
Non-technical skills are typically not job specific. They are generic to a
range of different work contexts. Jackson and Chapman (2012) point out that
today’s employers often require new graduates to add immediate value. Thus,
undergraduates must develop both technical and non-technical skills to achieve this
goal. The development of only technical skills is no longer considered
sufficient for graduates. Du Pre and Williams (2011) concur that the most effective
way for graduates to stand out among the crowd is to prove that they possess outstanding
credentials in a number of non-industry specific desired skill areas.
Schultz (2008) and Wilson et al. (2012)
agree that to be successful in the tough environment, candidates for jobs must
distinguish themselves from other candidates with similar qualifications. It is
no longer sufficient for new graduates to have knowledge of an academic
subject. Jarvis (2000) argues that universities must prepare and equip graduates
with entry-level knowledge and skills for the labour market. In addition,
universities must equip graduates with the ability to play a leadership role as
a custodian of knowledge.
The
development of youths who are the potentia1leaders of any given country the
world over, ought to top the goals of any nation. It is simply because the
youths constitute a formidable force and if their energies are properly channeled,
there will be immense growth and development. However, when such energies are dissipated
on activities that are detrimental to national development, such a country will
definitely experience myriads of problems.
There is general agreement that attitudes towards the
entrepreneur, entrepreneurial activity, and its social function are determinant
factors for university students to decide an entrepreneurial career.
Considering the empirical studies, results reveal a negative entrepreneur’s
image of younger generation. Many studies have an unfavourable perception of
desirability of new venture creation and only a small percentage has the firm
intention to create a new company.
Currently, entrepreneurship education is
being offered in all universities and other higher institutions. The
introduction of entrepreneurship education into the university curriculum is an
empowerment strategy for graduate self-employment, self-reliance and poverty
reduction. Where appropriate skills, attitude and knowledge accompanied with
appropriate practical work are taught to the students, they would on graduation
become self- employed and employers of labor. This will reduce the rate of
unemployment if not completely eradicated and move Nigeria from a consumer to
producer nation (Okah and Odelola, 2009). It is on this premise that the
researcher is motivated to find out undergraduate students perception of factors responsible for
unemployment in Lagos State.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
The issue of
unemployment among the populace particularly in the context of the youths is a
big problem in Nigeria and in deep other developing nations of the world. The
resultants effects of the problem is the youth restlessness, crime, and others
social vices in the society. It is against this foregoing that this study
examines reasons for this unemployment is the Nigerian communities with Lagos
metamorphosis as a case study.
1.3
Purpose of the Study
The main
purpose of this study is to investigate undergraduate students’ perception of
factors responsible for unemployment in Lagos State. Specifically, the study is
embarked upon to;
i.
find out the undergraduate
students’ perception to entrepreneurial education in tertiary institutions
ii.
examine
undergraduate students’ inclination to entrepreneurial spirit after tertiary
institutions
iii.
examine
students’ perception on the causes of unemployment among Nigerian graduates
iv.
Find out the
challenges facing Nigerian graduates in their efforts to becoming
entrepreneurs
1.4
Research Questions
The following
questions were raised to give directions to the study;
i.
What are the
perceptions of undergraduate students towards entrepreneurial education in tertiary
institutions?
ii.
What
inclinations do undergraduate students have to entrepreneurship after
graduating from tertiary institutions?
iii.
What is the
perception of Nigerian graduates towards the unemployment in Lagos
iv.
What are the
challenges facing Nigerian graduates in their efforts at becoming entrepreneurs
1.5
Significance
of the Study
The will provide useful insights into the state
of entrepreneurship education for a range of role-players in Nigeria.
Therefore, findings from this study would be most useful for policy makers,
academics, educational institutions and the public in general. Furthermore,
this study could assist in the following situations:
Help tertiary
institutions understand the shortcomings of current entrepreneurship programmes
and raise awareness about developing suitable entrepreneurship programmes to
prepare students for entrepreneurship as a career option;
Serve as a
documented source on entrepreneurship education for curriculum developers in
Nigeria, thus it might inform Nigerian educators to integrate curriculum and
teaching methods that foster entrepreneurial competencies, skills and
attitudes.
It is hope that
the outcome of this study will expose undergraduate student to the need to
develop them and look beyond seeking employment from organization to become
self reliance after graduating from institution.
1.6
Scope of
the Study
Due to time and financial
constraints this study, will be limited to undergraduates in government
owned institutions and graduates employment seekers in Lagos State metropolis,
Nigeria.
1.7
Definition
of Relevant Terms
In order to avoid ambiguity, the
following terms are operationally defined thus;
Employment: an
occupation by which a person earns a living; work; business.
Entrepreneur: a
person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the
hope of profit. Also this can be defined as a person who
organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of
profit.
Entrepreneurial
spirit: It's an attitude and
approach to thinking that actively seeks out change, rather than waiting to
adapt to change.
Graduate
employment seekers: This are graduates from colleges or
universities seeking employment in an organization.
Perception: the
way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted. This can also
be someone view about an issue
Tertiary
institutions: a high-level education
in which students study for degrees and academic research is done.
Undergraduate
students: An undergraduate
is a college or university student
who's not a graduate student.
Unemployment: this
occurs when a person who is actively
searching for employment is unable to find work.
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