Abstract:

This study seeks to investigate the socio - economic status and attitudes of Nigerian young Adults in tertiary institution towards vocational studies and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills. The study covered two tertiary institutions in Lagos State of Nigeria. The respondents, one hundred and sixty (160) students offering Vocational/Entrepreneurship related courses, among five departments, were selected using stratified random sampling technique. A forty (40) item questionnaire was the instrument used to elicit information regarding socio – economic status of students, preference on acquiring entrepreneurship skills in Technical/Vocational field of study, level of interest in acquiring entrepreneurial skills and challenges faced as a result of their choice. T–test statistics was employed to test the hypothesis at 0.05 alpha levels.

The result showed that students do not have good understanding of the importance of vocational studies they offered at tertiary institutions and relationship of such courses to their future career choice. It was also found that socio-economic background of the students has great impact on their quest for skill acquisition. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made: Vocational education curriculum should be closely aligned with current working practices and explicit entrepreneurial activities. Federal, State government and Proprietors of Universities should also provide adequate funds for the Vocational/Entrepreneurship units of tertiary institutions.

Keywords:

Attitude, Young Adults, Entrepreneurship skills, Vocational Studies.