IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS IN BUSINESS EDUCATION AS A TOOL FOR REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN EDO STATE

ABSTRACT

The study examined the Impact of Entrepreneurial Skills in Business Education as a Tool for Reducing Unemployment in Public Universities in Edo State," Four objectives were formulated. The research focuses on four key skills: creativity and innovation, risk management, leadership, and resilience and their impact on the reduction of unemployment of graduates. The study population comprises 400-level Business Education students from the University of Benin and Ambrose Alli University, with a sample size of 150 students selected through random sampling. The research instrument for the study was a Questionnaire titled: “Impact of Entrepreneurial Skills in Business Education as a Tool for Reducing Unemployment in Public Universities Questionnaire (IESBETRUPUQ)” was designed by the researcher for data collection. The simple percentage and mean score was used in computing the responses of the questionnaire items. To account for the reliability of the study, the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used which gave a value of 0.791. The findings reveal that creativity and innovation skills significantly enhance employability by enabling graduates to identify and exploit business opportunities; risk management skills help graduates navigate uncertainty and mitigate business risks, thereby increasing employability; leadership skills improve graduates' attractiveness to employers and expand their professional networks; and resilience equips graduates with mental toughness, adaptability, and problem-solving abilities essential for career success. The study recommends integrating these entrepreneurial skills into business education curricula to better prepare graduates for the job market and reduce unemployment rates.