ENTERPRENEURIAL SKILLS REQUIRED BY BUSINESS EDUCATION GRADUATES FOR SMALL SCALE BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN AKWA IBOM STATE

Background to the Study

One of the major challenges facing Nigerian societies in this contemporary era is unemployment. It has grown at alarming rate with attendant negative impact on the economy. The rate of unemployment as estimated by Nkechi, Emeh and Okechukwu (2012) stood at 50 percent of employable population in Nigeria. It is alarming and calls for concerted efforts from government and all well-meaning Nigerians to fight the menace. Accordingly, Akpan (2012) stated that Nigeria as one of the developing countries in the world is now moving to the direction where only individuals with self-sustaining and saleable skills can really survive economically.

Owing to this challenge, there is need for individuals to think of ways to become self- reliant and self-employed rather than waiting for white collar jobs. Unemployment is a common trend which every nation strives to eradicate. The government at various times do emphasize the need for its citizens to look inward due to the dwindling economic situation and resultant massive employment of both youths and adults. Education for self-reliant is a potent option which addresses this challenge. Hence, educational policies are formulated to provide relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for individuals to secure self-paid employment rather than being employed by other persons. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN, 2013) in her National Policy on Education emphasized the acquisition of appropriate skills, abilities and competencies (both mental and physical) to make them self reliant and contribute significantly to the development of the society.

Okoro (2015) observed that Nigerian educational policies have been revised from time to time so as to provide knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary for individuals to be self-employed rather than waiting or seeking to be employed by other persons. Ogbonna

(2007) observed that one of the vital macro-economic problems of our contemporary society is unemployment. Unemployment exists partly because most products of the Nigeria educational system look for jobs that do not exist instead of creating jobs for themselves and others. To meet the needs of the society, FRN (2013) in her National Policy on Education de- emphasized liberal education system for skills development.

Okorie in Amoor (2010) asserted that business education was incorporated into the nation’s educational system right from the junior secondary school for a gradual skills and competency development. This step was aimed at solving the problem of unemployment by turning out graduates who would become self-employed and create jobs for others. However, business education has been recognized in Nigeria and all over the world as a functional and qualitative educational programme that is aimed at equipping graduates with relevant skills to survive in the present challenging economic environment.

According to Osuala (2004), business education is an educational programme that consists of two parts namely the office education programme and general business education. The former is designed for office careers through initial, refresher and upgrading education while the latter is designed to provide students with information, skills and competencies which are needed by all in managing personal business affairs and using the services of business. Okwuanaso (2004) also defined business education as all the education that makes a person or an individual to know, have skills, understand and modify his attitudes so as to do whatever is needed to be done in business transactions and situations whether as an office worker, producer of goods or user of goods and services of business. Supporting the above view, Etonyeaku (2009) defined business education as an educational programme that is aimed at teaching students the fundamentals, theories and process of business. Education in this field occurs at several levels, including secondary and higher education or university education.

Business education programme at the university level has a well-articulated curriculum encompassing accounting, management, marketing and secretarial courses. The programme is offered at post graduate level in several universities in Nigeria including the University of Uyo, University of Benin, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and University of Nigeria, Nsukka and other universities. Graduates of business education from any university who are unable to secure paid employment job are expected to start small scale businesses. This is in line with Owolabi (2011) who opined that business education is a vocational subject that is historically intended to prepare graduates for success in business and world of work. Undoubtedly, the broad aim of business education is to train youths and unemployed persons for jobs and help workers upgrade and update their job skills.   It is meant to prepare persons for job in the business world. Business education is also aimed at training individuals to become intelligent consumer of services of business with a clear understanding of the country’s economy. Obviously, the crux of business education programme is to equip the graduates with relevant skills and competencies so as to venture into various small scale businesses upon graduation.

The Nigeria Bank for Commerce and Industry in Muhammad Char, Yasoa & Hassan (2010) defined small scale enterprise as one whose capital does not exceed N750,000.

According to Inegbenebor (2014) a small scale business is any business undertaken, owned, managed and controlled by not more than two entrepreneurs, has no more than twenty employees, has no definite organizational structure (that is, all employees report to the owners) and has a relatively small share of its market. Therefore, It is noted that for business education graduates to be successful in their various small business operations, adequate and requisite entrepreneurial skills are indispensable.

Entrepreneurial skill is simply the necessary set of skills required by an entrepreneur. In other words, entrepreneurial skill is that necessary skill an individual needs to successfully

run a business or add value to his or her work. Entrepreneurship is this, the process of learning the skills needed to assume the risk of establishing and running one’s own business. Entrepreneurship is encouraged in Nigeria because it could lead to self-employment, help in reducing unemployment and contribute towards the development of the country (Akpan and Abayan, 2014). Akintola (2001) stated that entrepreneurship remains the gateway to sustainable wealth creation in Nigeria. Ezedum (2011) outlined entrepreneurial skills to include communication skills, creative/innovative skills, decision-making skills, problem- solving skills, planning and organizing skills, risk taking skills, self-management skills, technological skills, teamwork skills, learning skills, initiative skills. Others are enterprise skills, financial skills, managerial skills, marketing/saleable skills, interpersonal relationship skills, integrity skills, and many others.

Graduates generally especially business education graduates need these employability skills to be able to work in private business enterprises or as entrepreneurs. Since, business education prepares graduates for success in business and the world of work, there is need equippingstudents with entrepreneurial skills and competencies for success in self- employment.

Amoor (2010) however identified the following as some entrepreneurial skills necessary for small business operation namely; business management skills, Information Communication and Technology skills, creative thinking skills and human resource management skills. Business management skills are those skills that help one in the process of planning, organizing and directing organizational resources to achieve stated goals. They include: ability to plan, ability to organize and handle small scale businesses, ability to source for funds for the smooth running of the small business, ability to start a new business and manage business risk, ability to search for business opportunities, ability to register a business, ability to effectively supervise and coordinate human and material resources

(Okoro, 2015). Other relevant management skills include: ability to develop broad-based investment planning and implementation, time management skills and apply integrating business skills.

Information and communication technology (ICT) skills enable one to use technologies, equipment and methods used to handle information. ICT skills include ability to send and receive email which is expected of business education graduates to succeed in entrepreneurship ventures. Some of the skills, according to Ekpenyong (2008), are knowledge and ability to send and receive e-mail, use e-business, e-commerce with word processors, send and receive fax messages, use collating machine and spreadsheet software among others.Marketing skill is the art of developing and distributing goods and services to consumers as well as businesses (Ezeani, 2008). However, marketing is not just limited to goods and services. It is extended to other areas like internet marketing, or online marketing which refer to buying of goods and services through the use of web and e-mail to drive direct sales via electronic commerce. Internets marketing or online marketing are typically used in conjunction with traditional types of advertising like radio, television, newspapers and magazines.

Creative thinking skill refers to the process of bringing something new into being, and ability to use imagination to create new things. Management of creative thinking skills and other mental processes of an individual person or a group of people, for example using problem solving techniques to solve business challenges or problems (Abanyam, 2014). Creativity bring to awareness what was previously hidden and point to new in terms of innovations.

Furthermore, business education graduates are expected to require a wide knowledge of human resource management skills which include: ability to conduct job analyses, ability

to plan and know personnel needs, ability to recruit the right people for a particular job, orienting and training them, ability to manage wages and salaries, provide benefits and incentives, ability to evaluate and possess human resource management skills, ability to resolve disputes and communicate effectively with all employees at all levels. Other relevant human resource management skills include ability to invest, plan, coordinate human and material resources and implement them. (Adebayo, 2009). However, while the contributions of small businesses to development are generally acknowledged, actual observation showed that enterprises in this sector face many obstacles that limit their long-term survival and development. Some researches into small-business development have also shown that the rate of failure of small scale businesses in developing countries is higher than in the developed world (Medugu &Dawha, 2015).

In terms of the needs and aspirations of individuals, business education permits the harmonious development of personality and character, fosters spiritual and human values; as well as the capacity for understanding, judgement, critical thinking and self-expressions, and prepares the individual for lifelong learning by developing the necessary mental tools. It develops capacity for decision-making, qualities necessary for active and intelligent participation, teamwork and leadership at work and in the community as a whole, entrepreneurship skills and attitude for the individual to cope with the rapid advances in ICT. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN, 2009) affirmed that the acquisition of appropriate creative skills, abilities and competencies both mentally and physically qualifies an individual to live in and contribute meaningfully to the development of the society. Acquisition of such skills ensures a self-reliant individual who can create or generate employment for self and others.

The influencing factors in the content of entrepreneurial skills required by business education graduates for small scale business operation could be the gender and location.

Gender in this study means all the male and female business education graduates in Akwa- Ibom State that owned small scale business operation. Koko (2015) observed that female entrepreneurs are likely to survive than their male counterparts due to unequal economic activities and inequalities of access to productive resources.

Location as used this study refers to geographical area in which the business education graduates run their small scale businesses which includes urban/rural. Akabueze (2012) held that urban and rural dwellers show very good population through the creation of jobs, for the youths as they are interest in SSB rescued out of unemployment and poverty, and thereby impact upon developing with skills, self-esteem and self-sufficiency in the state. Muktar (2009) stated that operators of small scale business in rural areas may face more obstacles to business success than their counterparts due poor application of limits rural areas performance in terms of sales revenue, assets, profit margins and likelihood of business survival. Small scale business (SSB) is recognized as integral component of economic development in the effort to lift countries out of poverty (Wolfenson, 2011). Small scale businesses are driving forces for economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction in developing countries. While the contributions of small businesses to development are generally acknowledged, enterprises in this sector face many obstacles that limit their long term survival and development. Some researches into small-business development have also shown that the rate of failure of small scale businesses in developing countries is higher than in the developed world (Medugu and Dawha, 2015). It appears that, it is still uncertain on how small scale businesses contribute into National development in developing countries.

The desire for every small scale business operator is to ensure that his business survives as a going concern. To achieve this, appropriate entrepreneurial skills must be required. A casual observation shows that most small scale business operators do make use of

entrepreneurial skills but to some extent. Akinola (2011) pointed out that it takes special skills to succeed as a small scale business operator and that the success of a business is due to many factors but the greatest determinant of a business success is the level of entrepreneurial skills required by the small scale business operators. In agreement, Gana in Sulayman and Akaeze (2014) stated that once a business ceases to be in operation, it is said to have failed. This implies that the appropriate entrepreneurial skills were not properly utilized.

Many of the small scale businesses crumbled shortly after being floated due to the failure of their owners to utilize appropriate skills acquired for business success. People engage or venture into small scale businesses without utilizing relevant entrepreneurial skills required for effective operation. As a result, failure follow instead of success. Thus in an attempt to facilitate entrepreneurial development in the country, the government of Nigeria through various agencies and academic institutions is focused towards the development of models of entrepreneurial education and skills acquisition (Adams, 2012). This is geared towards combating youth unemployment by facilitating productivity and development of small scale enterprises.