The Relationship between Entrepreneurship Education and Graduates’ Venture Creation Abilities in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study explored the connection between Oyo State graduates' venture creation skills and Entrepreneurship Education Programe. It is anticipated that business and entrepreneurship education will give students the abilities and information needed to start their own companies and support economic expansion. Nonetheless, there is concern that the Entrepreneurship Education programme in Oyo State may not be adequately equipping graduates with the knowledge and competencies required for venture creation and entrepreneurial activities. Consequently, this study examined the extent to which Entrepreneurship Education influences graduates’ capacity for venture creation, with particular emphasis on skill acquisition, entrepreneurial mindset, and access to resources. The study adopted a descriptive research design of survey type. The population comprised 3,829 registered employers with venture creation abilities in Oyo State. From the 3,829 registered employers in Oyo State, 500 employers were chosen at random to make up the sample size. A 15-item self-structured questionnaire designed by the researchers was used to elicit responses from the respondents on a four-point rating scale. Three specialists from the the department of Business Education, Emmanuel Alayande University of Education and one University of Ibadan's Department of Test and Measurement validated the instrument. The test-retest procedure assessed the research instrument's reliability and yielded dependability coefficient value of 0.72, 0.82 and 0.85 respectively for the three variables in the study. Mean and standard deviation answered the research questions while two tailed t-test statistical tool analysed the formulated hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study's conclusion indicate that there is meaningful connection between venture creation and Entrepreneurship education programme. Additionally, the study discovered that graduates venture creation abilities and Entrepreneurship Education capabilities in Oyo State significantly correlate. According to the study's findings, employers in Oyo State perceive connections between the skill graduates of Entrepreneurship Education have gained and their capacity to create new ventures. Furthermore, the study suggested that the government should promote core practical skills to enhance the Entrepreneurship Education Programme to boost venture creation and to provide after-school training in form of an apprenticeship model to train Entrepreneurship Education students in Oyo State.