JIMOH, Abiodun Ganiu1, OLAFARE, Elkannah Ayodaji2 &
FALANA, Helen Omowumi3
1Department of Educational Management and Business Studies
Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye
2,3Department of Business Education
Adeyemi College of Education
Corresponding e-mail: ayodejiolafare@gmail.com
Abstract
Business education is an education with the ultimate philosophy of training students for self-employment. Despite the importance of these programmes, graduate are still not interesting in business establishment thereby increasing the rate of unemployment in the country. Therefore this study investigated the role of business and entrepreneurship education on the growth of small and medium scale enterprises and reduction of unemployment in Nigeria. A total of 375 graduates who are entrepreneurs responded to the questionnaire developed and validated by the researcher and data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation). The findings
revealed that through business and entrepreneurship education, skills such as ability to identify business windows and opportunities; conducting feasibility studies; writing business plan; marketing products or services; managing business entity effective using management strategies; managing financial records of a business outfit; using ICT facilities to conduct business and as well communicate effectively with clients are acquired. It was found that business and entrepreneurship education have the potentials of ensuring the growth of small and medium scale enterprises and reduction of graduate unemployment in the country. It was concluded that business and entrepreneurship education helps in the growth of SMEs and employment generation among graduates but the reason for the current state of SME sector may not be unconnected to the unfavourable business environment in terms of basic social amenities which discourage many graduates to establish small businesses despite the acquired skills entrepreneurship education. It was recommended among other things that government should create enabling environment by ensuring the basic social amenities are provided for businesses to triumph.
Keywords: Business Education, Entrepreneurship Education and Graduate Unemployment.
