The need for integrating entrepreneurial education and training in Nigerian technical colleges: a preliminary study

Abstract

Entrepreneurship education and training is systematic and recognize field of study that serves a catalyst for sustainable development, economic growth and social well-being of the society. In Nigeria technical colleges are designed to address the issue of job creation, youth employment, self-reliance, skill development and increase productivity so as to compete with the current opportunities and challenges in the labor market and the movement towards 4.0 IR for integrity. Unfortunately most of the college graduates lack the required entrepreneurial competencies and mindset to become successful entrepreneurs. Therefore to achieve such objectives there is an urgent need for integrating EET in the curriculum and the full implementation of the program in our technical colleges. The paper explores the need for integrating EET into the college curriculum; semi-structured interview was conducted with 12 selected Nigerian students in UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia. The participants are from different geo-political zones of Nigeria, they are also from various faculties of the university; faculty of education, faculty of computing, faculty of management, faculty of science and faculty of electrical engineering. Purposive sampling technique was employed for the selection of the participants. 100 percent of the respondents� are in support of integrating EET into technical college curriculum and the full implementation of the program across the county. It is therefore recommended that National Board for Technical Education and policy makers should endeavor to address this issue as urgent because it will help Nigeria to prosper and the African continent in general.