Entrepreneurship Education and New Venture Creation among Serving Corps Members in North Central, Nigeria

Abstract

The rate of graduate unemployment in Nigeria has been increasing. This was attributed to a lack of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge that would enable them to be self-reliant and self-employed. This prompted the introduction of a policy that led to the compulsory entrepreneurship education in all tertiary institutions across Nigeria. This study, therefore, examined the effects of entrepreneurship education on new venture creation among serving corps members in North-Central Nigeria (NCN). A cross-sectional research design was employed to collect data from 36,513 serving corps members in the NCN using a Likert-scale questionnaire. A sample size of 398 was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The analysis indicated a positive and significant effect of the entrepreneurship curriculum and educator competence, a negative and significant effect of the pedagogy approach, and a negative but insignificant effect of the learning environment on new venture creation. Additionally, a positive and significant mediating effect of entrepreneurship education policy on NVC is observed. The study recommends reform of the teaching methods used in entrepreneurship education by shifting from traditional lecture-based approaches to more interactive, experiential, and student-centered methods. Additionally, there should be effective implementation and monitoring of the EE policy to achieve the expected outcome.