Journal Title: ICT Competency and Educational Technology Utilization among Nigerian Undergraduate Students: Implications for Digital Skills Development and Human Capital Advancement. (Case study of higher education institutions in Bayelsa State)

Grounded in human capital theory and digital competence frameworks, this study highlights the rapidly growing global need for digital literacy and ICT competency among undergraduate students. Cochran’s (1977) formula for large populations informed the design of a cross-sectional survey, a digitally structured questionnaire, and its administration to undergraduate students. The study analyzed 462 responses using descriptive statistics and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicated that ICT competency, digital skills development, and human capital advancement were rated high, while educational technology utilization was rated moderate. Pearson correlations were r = 0.814 between ICT competency and digital skills development, r = 0.814 between educational technology utilization and digital skills development, and r = 0.801 between digital skills development and human capital advancement. The PLS-SEM model showed that ICT competency (β = 0.494, p < .001) has a significant positive effect on digital skills development, educational technology utilization (β = 0.431, p < .001) has a significant positive effect on digital skills development, and digital skills development (β = 0.622, p < .001) has a significant positive effect on human capital advancement. The model explained 74.5% of the variance in digital skills development and 74.5% of the variance in human capital advancement, with a difference of 0.4%. The mediating effect analysis indicates that ICT competency (β = 0.308; 95% CI: 0.218–0.401) and educational technology utilization (β = 0.266; 95% CI: 0.197–0.341) have significant indirect effects on human capital advancement. The findings suggest that students' human capital advancement is directly related to their ability to develop digital skills through meaningful engagement with educational technology.