Robotic skills possessed by postgraduate Business Education students for employment generation in Rivers State

This study investigated the robotic skills possessed by postgraduate Business Education students for employment generation in Rivers State. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which postgraduate Business Education students possess programming, operational, design, troubleshooting, and automation application skills for employment generation. Two research questions guided the study, while two null hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised 159 postgraduate Business Education students from Rivers State University, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, and the University of Port Harcourt. Since the population was manageable, the entire population was studied without sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire titled Robotic Skills Possessed by Postgraduate Business Education Students for Employment Generation Questionnaire (RSPPBESEGQ). The instrument was validated by three experts in Business Education and Measurement and Evaluation, while its reliability was established using the Cronbach Alpha method. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, whereas Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that postgraduate Business Education students possessed programming and operational skills to a high extent. The ANOVA results further showed significant differences in the mean responses of postgraduate Business Education students from Rivers State University, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, and University of Port Harcourt regarding all the robotic skills investigated; consequently, all two null hypotheses were rejected. The study concluded that postgraduate Business Education students possess substantial robotic skills capable of promoting employability, entrepreneurship, and employment generation. It was recommended, among others, that universities should strengthen robotics education through curriculum enhancement, continuous industry collaboration, and increased practical learning opportunities to improve graduates' competencies for the technologydriven labour market.