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Harnessing Entrepreneurial Education in the Technical Universities: A Panacea to Youth Unemployment

Received: 5 January 2021    Accepted: 14 February 2021    Published: 22 March 2021
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Abstract

Entrepreneurship, in developing countries like Ghana, is vital to development of the country. Ghana has human resource capable of retrieving, processing and utilizing her natural resources for economic development. Yet, Ghana as a developing country is grappling with poverty and unemployment. The educational system and its curricula activities as well as the various associated training programmes in the country, are generally geared towards preparing the youth for white color jobs other than self-employment skills. This paper therefore focuses on entrepreneurial education with the emphasis on equipping the youth with skills and competence needed to enhance their economic status. The methodology used was descriptive and quantitative. The sample population was drawn from graduate students of three Technical Universities (TUs). The paper looked at the integration of entrepreneurial education programmes in the TUs curricula towards addressing job creation. It was found out that, the Ghanaian educational system has not been a force to reckon with when it comes to equipping the students or graduates with the requisite skills and competencies to develop themselves economically and career wise so as to produce graduates who are independent. This paper brings to the fore the fact that, in order to curb the unemployment situation in the country, emphasis should be laid on entrepreneurial education to develop the mind-set of the youth towards employment. Some recommendations were made for the youth to be self-reliant.

Published in Journal of Human Resource Management (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.12
Page(s) 15-21
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Entrepreneurship, Unemployment, Skills, Curricula, Human Resource, Education

References
[1] Agbeze C. (2012) Entrepreneurship: The need to create wealth…. Why not now. Ohafia Today. 2 (32): 7-12.
[2] Binks M, and Vale. P. (1990) Entrepreneurship and Economic Change. London: McGraw Hill.
[3] Dabalen, A., B. Oni, & O. Adekoka, (2000). Labour Market Prospects for University Graduates in Nigerian Higher Education Management, 14: 1-36 for Tertiary Graduates in Ghana. A World Bank /National Council for Tertiary Education and the National Accreditation Board Project Report. Accra Ghana.
[4] Echebiri, R. N. (2005). Characteristics and Determinants of Urban Youth Unemployment in Umuahia, Nigeria: Implications for Rural Development and Alternative Labor Market Variables. A Paper presented at the ISSER/Cornell/World Bank conference on “Shared Growth in Africa” held in Accra, Ghana, July 21-22.
[5] Fajana (2000). Functioning of the Nigerian Labour Market, Labonfin and Company, Lagos.
[6] Ghana Labour Force Survey, 2015.
[7] Ghana Statistical Agency, 2010.
[8] Karabchuk, T., & Zabirova, A. (2018). Informal employment in service industries: estimations from nationally representative Labour Force Survey data of Russian Federation. The Service Industries Journal, 38 (11-12), 742-771.
[9] McGrath, (1999). Learning to Compete: Education, Training and Enterprise in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, DFID, UK, 2.
[10] National Bureau of Statistics. (2014). Statistical News: Labor Force Statistics No. 476. Abuja: The NBS Obadan M. I, Odusola A. Y (2001). Productivity and Unemployment in Nigeria. Ibadan: NCEMA.
[11] Osei B et al (1993). Impact of Structural Adjustment on Small Scale Enterprises in Ghana. In A. H. J. Helsing and T. Kolstee (Eds.), Small Enterprises and Changing Policies, Structural Adjustment, Financial Policy and Assistance Programs in Africa. London: ITR Publications.
[12] Oyelola, O. T., N. C. Igwe, I. O. Ajiboshin, and S. B. Peluola. "Entrepreneurship education: Solution to youth unemployment in Nigeria." Journal of Poverty, Investment and Development 5, no. 2014 (2014): 149-157.
[13] Karue, O. O., & Eyovwunu, D. (2014). Entrepreneurial Education and Small Scale Business Development among Students of College of Education, Warri, Delta State. Merit Research Journal of Education and Review, 2, 185-193.
[14] Nabaho, Lazarus, Jessica Norah Aguti, and Joseph Oonyu. "Making sense of an elusive concept: Academics’ perspectives of quality in higher education." Higher Learning Research Communications 7.2 (2017): 2.
[15] Owusu-Ansah, W., & Poku, K. (2012). Entrepreneurship Education, a Panacea to Graduate Unemployment in Ghana? International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2 (15), 211-215.
[16] International Labour Organization (ILO) ISBN 978-92-2-127591-6.
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  • APA Style

    Daniel Larbi, Francis Gyedu. (2021). Harnessing Entrepreneurial Education in the Technical Universities: A Panacea to Youth Unemployment. Journal of Human Resource Management, 9(1), 15-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.12

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    ACS Style

    Daniel Larbi; Francis Gyedu. Harnessing Entrepreneurial Education in the Technical Universities: A Panacea to Youth Unemployment. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2021, 9(1), 15-21. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.12

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    AMA Style

    Daniel Larbi, Francis Gyedu. Harnessing Entrepreneurial Education in the Technical Universities: A Panacea to Youth Unemployment. J Hum Resour Manag. 2021;9(1):15-21. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.12,
      author = {Daniel Larbi and Francis Gyedu},
      title = {Harnessing Entrepreneurial Education in the Technical Universities: A Panacea to Youth Unemployment},
      journal = {Journal of Human Resource Management},
      volume = {9},
      number = {1},
      pages = {15-21},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20210901.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jhrm.20210901.12},
      abstract = {Entrepreneurship, in developing countries like Ghana, is vital to development of the country. Ghana has human resource capable of retrieving, processing and utilizing her natural resources for economic development. Yet, Ghana as a developing country is grappling with poverty and unemployment. The educational system and its curricula activities as well as the various associated training programmes in the country, are generally geared towards preparing the youth for white color jobs other than self-employment skills. This paper therefore focuses on entrepreneurial education with the emphasis on equipping the youth with skills and competence needed to enhance their economic status. The methodology used was descriptive and quantitative. The sample population was drawn from graduate students of three Technical Universities (TUs). The paper looked at the integration of entrepreneurial education programmes in the TUs curricula towards addressing job creation. It was found out that, the Ghanaian educational system has not been a force to reckon with when it comes to equipping the students or graduates with the requisite skills and competencies to develop themselves economically and career wise so as to produce graduates who are independent. This paper brings to the fore the fact that, in order to curb the unemployment situation in the country, emphasis should be laid on entrepreneurial education to develop the mind-set of the youth towards employment. Some recommendations were made for the youth to be self-reliant.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    AB  - Entrepreneurship, in developing countries like Ghana, is vital to development of the country. Ghana has human resource capable of retrieving, processing and utilizing her natural resources for economic development. Yet, Ghana as a developing country is grappling with poverty and unemployment. The educational system and its curricula activities as well as the various associated training programmes in the country, are generally geared towards preparing the youth for white color jobs other than self-employment skills. This paper therefore focuses on entrepreneurial education with the emphasis on equipping the youth with skills and competence needed to enhance their economic status. The methodology used was descriptive and quantitative. The sample population was drawn from graduate students of three Technical Universities (TUs). The paper looked at the integration of entrepreneurial education programmes in the TUs curricula towards addressing job creation. It was found out that, the Ghanaian educational system has not been a force to reckon with when it comes to equipping the students or graduates with the requisite skills and competencies to develop themselves economically and career wise so as to produce graduates who are independent. This paper brings to the fore the fact that, in order to curb the unemployment situation in the country, emphasis should be laid on entrepreneurial education to develop the mind-set of the youth towards employment. Some recommendations were made for the youth to be self-reliant.
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Author Information
  • General Service Directorate, Accra Technical University, Accra, Ghana

  • Examination Office, Accra Technical University, Accra, Ghana

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