Entrepreneurial Training and Career Choice among University Undergraduates in North-central Nigeria: Any Correlation?

Abstract

The inadequacy of conventional educational system to suitably groom young entrepreneurs who would transform ideas to business empire that would compete in the 21st century global market, has necessitated the introduction of entrepreneurship training to Nigerian higher education. However, the extent to which this has achieved the intended goal has been seriously contested in academics. This study examined the influential role of current entrepreneurial training on career choice of tertiary education students in North Central Nigeria. Data were collected through a closed-ended questionnaire from a selected sample of 237 final year Business Administration and Entrepreneurship students. A 5-point Likert scale was designed to capture and measure variables relating to entrepreneurial training and career choice. The data were presented and analyzed using descriptive statistic of simple percentage table, while hypotheses were tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analytical tools with the aid of SPSS. The results show a significant level of 0.860 between entrepreneurship training and entrepreneurial attitude, and 0.820 between entrepreneurship training and drive for achievement on one hand. On the other hand, there exists a strong positive correlation of 0.930 between entrepreneurship training and opportunity recognition, and 0.83 on entrepreneurial risk-taking. Therefore, the findings revealed that entrepreneurial training has a significant impact on entrepreneurial attitude and drive for achievement, thus, influencing career choice amongst tertiary education students in North-Central Nigeria. It was recommended that, education policy makers and other stakeholders need to intensify efforts towards designing a well-structured entrepreneurship training that focuses on students’ competence development, opportunity recognition and innovativeness. This enhances entrepreneurial career pursuit among undergraduates.