Abstract:

Entrepreneurship is globally seen as the answer to the growing socio-economic problem of unemployment and also a crucial element of growth and stability in any economy. Indeed, the prosperity of every country to a large extent is dependent on entrepreneurship. Accordingly, intensive efforts, backed by deliberate policies and strategies have been made by several nations of the world to ensure its development and sustenance. In Nigeria, the Federal government in collaboration with National Universities Commission (NUC) gave the directive for all Nigerian Universities to establish Entrepreneurial Development Centre (EDC) latest by the 2007/2008 academic session. Although this is a bold step in the right direction, the effectiveness of these Centres in equipping graduates with job creating and self- sustenance skills is being questioned. Based on this, copies of questionnaire were distributed to students of Covenant University and The Bells University of Technology in Ota, Ogun State and analyzed to have the students’ perception of the program in their schools. It was observed that to a large extent, entrepreneurship is well established in these institutions and students are taking advantage of the opportunity to get self-sustaining and self-reliant skills. However, for unemployment to be reduced by the output of these programs, it is recommended that the government, organizations and private individuals should create platforms and provide facilities that will ensure that graduates have the relevant resources and environment to practice the acquired skills in order to be job creators and self-reliant.

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Education, Employment, Skill Acquisition and Job Creation among Youths.