PERTINENT ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS AS PERCEIVED BY ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION STUDENTS IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS IN NORTH-CENTRAL, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated the entrepreneurial skills required by entrepreneurs as perceived by electrical and electronic technology education (EETE) students in higher institutions in North-Central Nigeria. Guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses, a descriptive survey research design was adopted. The study was conducted in all tertiary institutions offering EETE in North-Central Nigeria, with a total population of 201 subjects, including 74 EETE students from colleges of education and 127 from universities. A structured questionnaire titled “Questionnaire on Entrepreneurial Skills of Electrical and Electronic Technology Education Students (QESEETES)” was developed by researchers and validated by three experts from the Federal University of Technology, Minna. The instrument's reliability coefficient was determined to be 0.89 using Cronbach Alpha Statistics. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while z-test statistics tested the null hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that personal entrepreneurial skills such as integrity, innovation, decision-making, emotional awareness, and tolerance were perceived by EETE students with a grand mean of 3.27. Social entrepreneurial skills like leadership, developing others, collaboration, and conflict resolution were perceived with a grand mean of 3.14 and a standard deviation of 0.70. It was recommended that EETE lecturers continue exposing students to entrepreneurial skills required for employment after graduation. EETE students aiming to work in industrial organizations should seek additional entrepreneurial skills training and certifications from professional institutes outside the academic environment.