Background to the Study
Human economic development will greatly contribute to the promotion of people' interest and aspiration inside the country through well-planned education and training activities (Egwu, 2009). Technical and vocational education and training (TVET), through assisting individuals in obtaining meaningful work, can have a significant influence on economic growth, full employment, and social inclusion. TVET programs are skill-based programs designed to assist students prepare for direct entrance into desired or interested jobs. Successful completion of the program results in a technical and vocational qualification that is highly relevant in the labor market and is fully recognized by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and employer groups in Nigeria (UNESCO, 2007).
Entrepreneurship efforts, on the other hand, have been advantageous since the Nigerian private sector, which is made up of small and medium businesses, employs over half of the country's population and produces half of the country's industrial output (Ariyo, 2005; Oyelola et al, 2013). Many other nations have been able to improve and turn existing entrepreneurship centers into active and fascinating ones, resulting in significant reductions in unemployment and poverty. Unfortunately, the opposite is true in Nigeria. According to a World Bank report on the Nigerian economy issued in 2011, the unemployment rate increased from "12% of the working population in 2006 to 24 percent in 2011." Despite being one of the richest states in the country in terms of crude oil production and federal allocation, Akwa Ibom State's unemployment rate is rising at an alarming rate. This is not exclusive to Akwa Ibom State; it is a nationwide phenomena. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Akwa Ibom State had the second highest unemployment rate in the south-south zone in 2010, at 36.1 percent. Available records clearly demonstrate that unemployment and its attendant result, poverty, were not a national problem in the last two decades of Nigeria's independence (1960s and 1970s), as they are now.
In these economic years, the pace at which graduates enter the labor market in the country is unmanageable, resulting in unemployment, underemployment, and the stress of social hazards connected with unemployment and protracted inactivity."
According to the International Labour Center, youth discontent has been a major element in protest movements throughout the world this year, making it difficult for graduates and young people to find work that is part-time, menial, or transitory.
Governments all across the world are attempting to discover new solutions through labor market interventions such as skill mismatches, job search assistance, and entrepreneurship training.
The impact of entrepreneurship centers on employment creation in Nigeria was explored in this study, which used the University of Uyo's entrepreneurship center as a case study.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
In Nigeria, unemployment, as it is known, has been a looming problem. This has developed to the point that a simple campaign or word of mouth will not suffice (Nwankwo & Ifejiofor, 2014). To establish a long-term strategy to combat this threat, individuals and the government of the country in particular, as well as the globe at large, must work together. Unemployment in Nigeria has had a wide range of socio-economic effects on the young and the country's economic progress. It is apparent that the issue, particularly that of youth unemployment, has had a significant impact on Nigeria's growth in a number of ways. Apart from the economic waste it has caused, it has also caused political upheaval in the country (Ipaye, 1998). As a result of this circumstance, the number of crimes and other social vices in our society has been steadily increasing in recent years. Several techniques have been created in all sectors of human endeavor to rescue this dreadful predicament. All of these tactics may be found in the world of entrepreneurship.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of entrepreneurship centres on job creation in Nigeria, a case study of university of Uyo entrepreneurship centre. The specific objectives are:
i) To survey the effects of entrepreneurship centres on job creation in Nigeria.
ii) To inquire the factors that constitute to unemployment in Nigeria.
iii) To investigate the benefits of entrepreneurship centres on the people of Uyo.
1.4 Research Questions
The following are some of the questions which this study intends to answer:
i) What are the effects of entrepreneurship centres on job creation in Nigeria?
ii) What are the factors that constitute to unemployment in Nigeria?
iii) What are the benefits of entrepreneurship centres on the people of Uyo?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The research hypotheses to be tested include:
i) There is no significant correlation between entrepreneurship centres and unemployment.
ii) There is a significant relationship between entrepreneurship and unemployment reduction.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study will be beneficial in highlighting the importance of entrepreneurship training and its impact on unemployment reduction in Nigeria. One of the SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) goals highlights education (training) as a critical factor to reducing poverty and dependency. Allow the identification of the concept and framework of entrepreneurship. It will also be beneficial in the area of development and its contribution to Nigeria’s economy as well as generating greater awareness among tertiary institutions on the importance of having proper and practical strategies for acquiring entrepreneurial skills.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study will be carried out among the workers of university of Uyo entrepreneurship centre, Akwa Ibom State. Information collected from these workers shall be subjected to further analysis and the results got from it shall be final.
1.8 Limitation of the study
The study will be faced with a lot of challenges and one it the problem of finance. There is not going to be enough funds to print questionnaires and to also transport the researcher to meet the desired respondents. Another one is time; the researcher is currently busy with the demand of his academics. A lot of assignments are available for the researcher to do and coupled with his desire to read and learn at the same time. These are the major challenges of this study.
1.9 Definitions of Terms
The following terms were used in the course of this study:
Job creation: the process of providing new jobs, especially for people who are unemployed: the government's job creation strategy.
Skills acquisition: the ability to learn or acquire skills. It involves the development of a new skill, practice of a way of doing things usually gained through training or experience
Unemployment: Unemployment or joblessness, as defined by the International Labour Organization (1982) occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past five weeks. The unemployment rate is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a%age by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in the labour force. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (2011), unemployment rate is the proportion of those who are looking for work but could not find work for at least 40 hours during the reference period to the total currently active (labour force) population.
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