ABSTRACT
This study investigated
relevance of national youth service corps skill acquisition programme and
unemployment reduction in Ifako Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The study adopted descriptive survey design. A self-designed validated
questionnaire was used for data collection. Three research questions and three
hypotheses guided the study. Eighty graduates randomly selected under the
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in Ifako Ijaiye Local Government
Area of Lagos State participated in the study. The statistical tool used in the
study was the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and all
hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Findings showed that
there was a significant
relationship between skill acquisition training and reduction of unemployment,
there was a significant relationship between skill being thought and the needs
of various organisations and there was a significant relationship between
government funding and the achievement of the set objectives of the scheme.
Based on these findings, some recommendations made in this study include: the
government should ensure that there is proper implementation of the skill
acquisition programme. The study found out that the major problem with skill
acquisition training is policy implementation and not formulation. Also, The
government should make a policy integrating entrepreneurship skill acquisition
to enhance self-employment, in the curricula from secondary to tertiary levels
to give students an opportunity to
combine and coordinate all the elements of business management and to also
inculcate in them entrepreneurial mind-set as well as motivate the students to
setup their business ventures on graduation. The study also recommended that
government should have the political will to work hand in hand with the
universities by providing good infrastructure, resources and adequate funding
because these facilities have a way of improving the skill and knowledge of the
graduates.
TABLE
OF CONTENT
PAGES
Title page
Certification i
Approval page ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of content vi
List of tables viii
CHAPTER
ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of Study 1
Statement of the Problem 4
Purpose of Study 6
Research Questions 6
Research Hypotheses 6
Significance of Study 7
Scope of Study 8
Definition of Terms 8
CHAPTER
TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction 10
Graduates
Unemployment 11
Concept of Skill
Acquisition 15
Skill Acquisition
and Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria 17
Contribution of
Government Agencies on Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship 21
Entrepreneurship
Skill Requirements to Combat Unemployment 27
NYSC Achievement
on Skill Acquisition Programme 28
Appraisal of
Literature Review 37
Theoretical
Framework of the Study 39
Summary of Review
of Literature 41
Conclusion 42
CHAPTER
THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction 44
Research Design 44
Population 44
Sample and Sampling Techniques 44
Research Instrument 45
Validity of Instrument 45
Reliability of Instrument 45
Method of Data Collection 45
Method of Data Analysis 46
CHAPTER
FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Introduction 47
Presentation of Results 47
Answers to Research Questions 48
Test of Hypotheses 53
Summary of Findings 55
Discussion of Findings 55
CHAPTER
FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction 61
Summary 61
Conclusion 62
Implications 64
Areas
of further studies 65
References 66
Appendix 71
LIST
OF TABLES
Table
Showing Graduate Unemployment Rate 2003 to 2011 11
Content
of Entrepreneurial Performance Training 24
Entrepreneurship
Opportunity and Skills 27
Activities
of National Youth Service Corps 36
Table Showing the Demographic
Characteristics of the Sample 47
Respondent Opinion about Skill
Acquisition Training and Reduction of Unemployment 49
Skills Being Thought and the Needs of Various
Organizations 51
Government Funding and the Achievement
of set Objectives of the Scheme 52
Hypothesis One 53
Hypothesis Two 54
Hypothesis Three 55
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
to the Study
Unemployment is a
major treat that is facing graduates of tertiary institutions in Nigeria due to
the economic downturn and recessions experienced in countries around the world.
In Nigeria, the reported youth unemployment rate has grown from 41percent in
2009 to over 50 percent in 2012-2013 and is growing at a rate of 16 percent per
annum (Salami, 2013). Though data sources vary greatly depending on the
technically out of work population, Nigeria’s large population size is a
significant multiplier and results in between 5 to 20 million unemployed youths
in Nigeria today.
Unemployment in Nigeria, as in other developing
countries of the world, has been one of the most menacing social and economic
problems Nigeria has to contend with. It is absolutely impossible to find a
family in Nigeria which nobody is either unemployed or threatened by
unemployment. The effect of unemployment on social and political stability
cannot be wished away. Unemployment is partly responsible for social problems
such as armed robbery, prostitution, destitution, kidnapping for ransom,
bunkering and other social vices. Lemo (2013) asserts that entrepreneurship
remains the viable option to create jobs, reduce unemployment, poverty and
empower youths to develop their businesses, pursue their dreams and contribute
to overall productive capacity and national economic growth and development.
Graduates of tertiary institutions in Nigeria after
their compulsory National Youth Service cannot boast that they will be employed
after their service year. Only a few of them could be lucky to secure paid
employment. Therefore, being a graduate of higher institution of learning or
possessing professional qualifications in disciplines such as law, medicine,
accounting, engineering and so on is no guarantee of getting the desired
employment due to the economic problem the country is facing.
Skill acquisition in terms of entrepreneurship
education have been suggested to enable the country tackle the endemic problem
of unemployment and poverty among the teeming youths and graduates in Nigeria
so as to enable them to be job creators as well as wealth creators (Midea,
2004, Izedonmi, 2009, Unachukwu, 2009).Entrepreneurship skills acquisition can
be obtained through various avenues such as: attending entrepreneurial training
classes, development programmes, seminars, workshops and so on.
Entrepreneurship development in Nigeria has been
ongoing for many years. Several government agencies and institutions have been
engaged in different aspects of entrepreneurship development though with varied
successes. Entrepreneurship Development Center (EDC), Center of Management
Development (CMD), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), former Nigeria
Industrial Development Bank (NIDB), Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry
(NBCI), Nigerian University Commission (NUC), National Economic Empowerment and
Development Strategy (NEEDS), National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS), Small
and Medium Enterprise Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Small and
Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS) and national Youth Service
Corps (NYSC) among others have programmes for skills acquisition and
entrepreneurship development in Nigeria.
Nigerian government and policy makers are increasingly
finding it difficult to deal successfully with graduate unemployment. The high
rate of unemployment can be blamed on the lack of adequate provision for job
creation in the development plans, the ever expanding educational growth and
the desperate desire on the part of youths to acquire University education
irrespective of course and course contents. As a result, a number of skills
acquired from the University appear useless and irrelevant. With each passing
academic year, more and more graduates are being turned out from the various
Universities in the country. The NYSC annually mobilizes an average of 250,000
graduates. However, 227,136 corps members served in 2012.
The National Youth Service Corps Scheme and the
institution that administers it has been a veritable tool for the promotion of
national unity since 1973 when the programme was launched. The scheme has been
reengineered and reloaded with the aim of re-aligning its programmes and
contents to enable it discharge its duties and responsibilities efficiently.
The scheme has redoubled its efforts at implementing policies that are meant to
allow corps members render selfless service to the nation in a secured
environment as well as prepare them for future leadership positions and
challenges of post service life. One of the policies is Skill Acquisition and
Entrepreneurship Development.
The introduction of Skill Acquisition and
Entrepreneurship Development training to corps members is to ensure that they
become job creators instead of job seekers. It is expected that in the long
run, the scheme will bring about industrial revolution in the country. The
Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development drive of the scheme is two
pronged namely: Skill Acquisition and the other one, Entrepreneurship
Development. The first component has to do with equipping interested corps
members with specific technical/vocational skills in identified skill sets
based on individual interest while the later focuses more of developing the
business/enterprise capacities of corps members. Presently Corps members are
being trained in skills areas as Agro-allied, Food Preservation, Culture and
Tourism, Cosmetology, Information Communication Technology (ICT), Environment,
Beautification, Construction, Education, Power and Energy, Film and Photography
and Automobile.
In ensuring that
the schemes objective is achieved, the National Youth Service Corps is in
collaboration with a number of organisations at both national and international
levels. These organisations provide materials, technical and financial support
for the programme. The scheme has a signed memorandum of understanding with
Bank of Industry (BOI), International Labour Organisation (ILO) and so on. To
further the cause of the initiative, a total of 285,000 corps members have been
trained under the skill acquisition programme (The Source Magazine, 2016).
Small Business Service (2005) asserts
that the possession of entrepreneurial skills to create new knowledge based
social enterprises is vital to addressing the social and environmental issues
effectively. In the face of global meltdown, entrepreneurship is a central
pillar to economic growth and development, employment generation and poverty
alleviation (Unachukwu, 2009). Therefore, Nigeria cannot afford to toy with the
issue of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship skill acquisition and development.
Statement
of the Problem
This study focused
on the relevance of National Youth Service Corps skill acquisition programme to
the reduction of unemployment in Nigeria. In the olden days the private and
public organisations (employers) searched for potential employees to engage.
The employers would go around universities and polytechnics to search for
potential graduates for employment. As at that time there were fewer
universities and polytechnics and enrolment was very low compared to now.
Presently about 1.8 million youths graduate annually from Tertiary
Institutions. Major Industries in Nigeria have closed down from operations due
to power failure, government policies and other economic issues that could have
made them to expand their business or engage more employees to boost their
operations.
The problem of
lack of skill and experience is very vital as consideration to graduates being
engaged for any particular task or employment. Ekong (2008) posits that
institutions of higher learning in Nigeria have concentrated more on
theoretical and abstract instructional deliveries, focusing only on cognitive
development and consequently turning out non entrepreneurial skilled graduates
into the labour market. The non-linkage of the requirements
(administrative/technical/course content, etc.) between Universities and
organisations who are employers of labour could not influence the undergraduate
curriculum to enable the fresh graduate to be engaged by organisations.
The Supervised Industrial Training Work Experience
Scheme (SIWES) was to expose our students to the labour market before
graduation, but this has been compromised by lack of planning, supervision and
corruption. Employment in Nigeria is affected by corruption both in the public
and private sectors of the economy. Whom you know and how much you can pay
could determine your chances of being employed.
The Nigerian government has been in collaboration with
private investors to encourage the practice of Entrepreneurship Skill
Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development but low progress has been made up
to date. This is associated to the attitude, low level of understanding and
perceptions among the young undergraduates towards entrepreneurship. This
problem led to the introduction of Entrepreneurship Skill Acquisition Programme
under the National Youth Service Corps for corps members to serve as a training
period for them during their service year.
Despite the attempts by previous
regimes to reduce unemployment, the condition of the Nigerian graduate still
leaves a lot to be desired. This study therefore, seeks to investigate the
relevance of the NYSC skill acquisition programme in reducing unemployment rate
in Nigeria.
Purpose
of Study
The purpose of
this study is to examine the extent to which the Entrepreneurship Skill
Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development training of the National Youth
Service Corps have helped to reduce unemployment in Nigeria. The study focuses
on:
1. Ascertaining
the extent to which the National Youth Service Corps skill acquisition
programme have helped to reduce unemployment;
2. To
examine the relevance of skill acquisition training to requirements expected
for recruitment of undergraduates into various organizations in need of their
services; and
3.
To ascertain government commitment to
funding the programme and the roles played by government through their agencies
for the training of graduates under National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
Research
Questions
1. Has
the National Youth Service Corps Skill Acquisition programme been able to
reduce the growing rate of unemployment?
2. Are
the skills being thought relevant to the needs of the various organisations?
3.
Is the programme adequately funded by
government to achieve its set objectives?
Research
Hypotheses
In order to carry out this research project, some
working hypotheses were developed. The research hypotheses for this project
are;
1. There
is no significant relationship between skill acquisition training and reduction
of unemployment.
2. There
is no significant relationship between the skills being thought and the needs
of various organisations.
3.
There is no significant relationship
between government funding and the achievement of set objectives of the scheme.
Significance
of the Study
There has been
tremendous growth in graduate unemployment as well as the demand for university
education in Nigeria. This study provides the basis for which graduates in
search of employment or self-employment are able to face the challenges of
unemployment plaguing the country.
The study also provides a
comprehensive view of the achievement of National Youth Service Corps Scheme as
an instrument of job creation in the socio-economic development of graduates
and the overall national development of the country.
Theoretically, it
contributes significantly to the existing literature on the subject matter. It
also provides information on the effectiveness of the National Youth Service
Corps in the reduction of unemployment in Nigeria. Data were made available on
the number of graduates so far trained on Entrepreneurship Skill Acquisition
and their availability for employment in organisations.
The findings of this study would make provision for
research information on Entrepreneurship Skill Acquisition programme of the
government and its agencies which is at present not enough in literature. That
is, there is not enough research information on the government contribution
towards the effectiveness of the National Youth Service Corps Entrepreneurship
Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme as well as its
constraints.
The study will benefit policy making by ensuring that
effective and efficient policies are proposed to government for the enhancement
of and sustainability of the skill acquisition programme for graduates during
their service year to reduce mass poverty and unemployment in the country.
The Corps members will be professionally trained on
various skills that are relevant for their survival in the growing unpredictable
economic environment. They would have been trained in certain skills that will
make them job creators thereby avoiding poverty and unemployment. They too will
become employers of our youths for the various jobs created by them.
Lastly, the study would make useful
contributions to the general readers and researchers who want to study on the
same topic or any related topics on Entrepreneurship Skill Acquisition and
Entrepreneurship Development.
Scope
of Study
The main focus of the study was to take a critical
assessment of the National Youth Service Corps in facilitating youth
employment. The National Youth Service Corps has different programmes for skill
acquisition and other programmes for job creation. The programmes are targeted
at impacting skill and creating jobs for both graduates and non-graduates. Some
programmes are designed for both groups. Therefore, the target of this study
was limited to graduates only. These include graduate students from
Universities and Polytechnics currently serving within Surulere Local
Government Area of Lagos State.
Definition
of Terms
The following
terms in the study are defined as follows:-
Skill
acquisition: This is the training of a person on a
particular task or function thereby making him/her an expert in it.
Unemployed:
This
refers to the numbers of economically active graduates who are without work but
are available for and seeking work, including people who have lost jobs or
voluntarily left work.
Unemployment:
This
is when people are without jobs.
Unemployment
Rate: This is a measure of the level of unemployment and
it’s calculated as a percentage of dividing the number of unemployed
individuals by all individuals currently constituting the labour force.
Entrepreneurship:
This
refers to the capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a
business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit and be
self-employed.
Entrepreneurship
skill development: These are the training given to the
entrepreneur. It includes personal characteristics, interpersonal skills,
critical and creative thinking skills and practical skills.
Poverty:
This
is referred to as a condition in which a person or group of persons are unable
to satisfy their most basic and elementary requirements for human survival in
terms of good nutrition, clothing, shelter, health, education, recreation, and
others.
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