VOCAPRENEURSHIP SKILLS TRAINING AS CORRELATE OF SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND LIFELONG LEARNING AMONGST UNIVERSITY GRADUATES IN SOUTH-SOUTH ZONE OF NIGERIA

This study ascertained the relationship among vocapreneurship skills training, sustainable business development and lifelong learning amongst university graduates in South-South Geo-political Zone, Nigeria. Theory-based learning offers limited graduate self-employment opportunities, surging mass unemployment rate in the Zone with grave consequences on society. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. Null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significance level. Related literatures were reviewed. Correlational survey design was adopted. Population of the study was infinite and sample was 384 lecturers from public and private universities. Stratified sampling technique was adopted. 12-item structured questionnaire of 4-point Likert-type rating scale was used for data collection. Reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.83. The instrument was administered by the researchers and six (6) research assistants. Pearson-Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) was used to test null hypotheses for strength and direction of relationships. P-value was used to establish statistical significance of r. Findings showed strong positive relationship between vocational skills training and sustainable business development (r = 0.87); and weak positive relationships between vocational skills training and lifelong learning (r = 0.14); and between entrepreneurship skills training and sustainable business development (r = 0.07), and moderate positive relationship between entrepreneurship skills training and lifelong learning (r = 0.51); significant statistical relationship between vocational skills training and sustainable business development, r(373)=0.87, p.11(p<.05); significant statistical relationship between entrepreneurship skills training and sustainable business development, r(373)=0.14, p.07(p<.05); insignificant statistical relationship between vocational skills training and lifelong learning, r(373)=0.07, p.31(p>.05); and significant statistical relationship between entrepreneurship skills training and lifelong learning, r(373)=0.51, p.17(p<.05) amongst university graduates in South-South Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that vocapreneurship skills training be sustained in universities because of the relationship it has with sustainable business development and lifelong learning.