THE INFLUENCE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS ACQUIRED BY BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS ON THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISES IN EDO STATE

ABSTRACT 

This study examines influence of entrepreneurship skills acquired by business education students on the establishment and management of small scale enterprises in Edo State. There was no sampling due to the manageable size of the population. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, four research questions were raised. The sample for the study consists of one hundred and fifty-seven (157) respondents which were selected using the simple random sampling method. Data was collected with the aid of questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the instrument were ascertained using the exert judgment and test-retest procedures. Descriptive statistics of frequency, mean (x), and standard deviation (SD) were used to analyse collected data. Based on the findings of the study it was ascertained that business education program contribute the manpower development in small and medium scale enterprise. It was also observed that business education graduates still lacks interest to embark on SMEs upon graduation and become self-employed because they seem to lack adequate practical skills that would enable them to put practice what they studied during their program. It was recommended that the government should put in place various strategies that could stimulate e VTE students to acquire skills to enable them embark on SMEs after graduation.