ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES REQUIRED OF BUSINESS EDUCATION GRADUATES FOR SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISE OPERATION

Many business enterprises have failed due to lack of requisite business management skills of the entrepreneurs; however, it is expected of business education graduates to be self-sufficient as a result of the training secured during course of study. Therefore, this study identified the various entrepreneurial skills and competencies needed by business education graduates for sustainable business management. The study adopted a survey research design. The study population represented all the business education lecturers and final year undergraduates of the two Ogun State government-owned universities; Tai Solarin University of Education and Olabisi Onabanjo University. Adopting purposive and convenience sampling techniques, a sample of 124 respondents was drawn from the population, made up of 24 lecturers and 100 undergraduates. A structured questionnaire was the instrument usedfor data collection. Data collected were analyzed using the mean and standard deviation, and T-test. Findings revealed that 15 managerial skills, 14 marketing skills, 14 accounting skills and 15 ICT skills were required for sustainable operation of an enterprise. The hypothesis revealed that there is no significant difference in the opinion of lecturers and undergraduates on entrepreneurial skills required for sustainable operation of an enterprise. The study subsequently recommended that curriculum of Business Education should be reviewed with a view to incorporate the skills identified in the study in order to guarantee the adequate training (and making) of business education graduates who are set to establish and run sustainable enterprises towards self-reliant and job creation – rather than hunting for the limited white collar jobs.