The Nexus between Education and Employment

Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 2021

This paper stresses the importance of entrepreneurial university towards improving sustainable job creation and improvement in Uganda. The dilemmas the country is facing ranges from excessive poverty, graduate unemployment; over dependence on overseas items and technology; as well as low economic growth and development. These dilemmas are partly triggered by using improper education system especially at the university level. Many people argue that university education in Uganda is principally for its very own saketo impart knowledge and a love of getting to know with greater paper qualifications. University training is for academic superiority disconnected from day-today realities, a closed environment in which information and intellect is the sanctuary of the self-selecting, privileged fewno grasp of what is vital for ordinary people. Yet the fact of university schooling is about helping humans grow in their lives by supporting them to live better life. This paper hence contends that change of universities in Uganda, from ivory tower to entrepreneurial universities, will prepare the students with the conduct, states of mind and attitudes with which to be self-reliant and contribute to job creation and advancement. The paper starts by highlighting the concept of university as an ivory tower. The objectives and framework for designing entrepreneurial university is presented next. The paper suggests that university programmes at all levels of instruction ought to be made significant to the community so as to supply the youth with the required entrepreneurial aptitude.

The entrepreneurial spirit, ingenuity, and originality of a nation's citizens are key indicators of its economic sustainability. People who were persistent and determined to succeed in their goals founded factories and industries. Entrepreneurship is a key factor in determining the viability of an economy, according to several economists. But the 21st century has arrived with its abrupt shifts away from old industrial economies and toward a knowledge-based economy, which, as Peter Drucker predicted, is utterly dependent on human capital. The need for adequate educational accomplishment to meet the needs of the 21st century economy has therefore increased as a result of this transition. Kurotimi and others (2017).

Alternative Horizon, 2021

The African youth population is expected to increase up to over 830 million by 2050 and an estimated 263 million young people may not be gainfully employed by 2025 according to the African Development Bank projection. This is quite worrisome as there is currently an increase in migration of young and skilled Africans to other continents, as well as poor living conditions, increased crime rates, and social vices among the African youth population as a result of unemployment, amongst other factors. Urgent attention is, therefore, required towards reducing the rate of unemployment in Africa. Although job creation and the provision of economic opportunities for citizens are constitutional duties of government officials and public office holders, the alarming increase in youth unemployment calls for a more holistic and sustainable approach to addressing this challenge-hence the need for human capacity building towards self-employment and sustenance. The promotion of entrepreneurship through formal and informal education in Africa, provision of mentorship programmes, and start-up funds will provide a short-and long-term solution to the scourge of youth unemployment in Africa.

Education in Nigeria is devoid of the element crucial to averting the surging rate of unemployment in the country, therefore the breeding of psychological dependence on direct access to money. Entrepreneurial development through education will advance the economy of the nation; much credence should be given to it and ingrained with focus on profitable personal development. Unemployment prevails in the country, hence, the growth of violence, poverty and segregation amongst citizens, because the educational system itself fails to empower the ones passing through it. This research work, therefore examines the strategies of entrepreneurial education carried out in two of the universities pioneering it; Federal University of Technology, Akure, and Covenant University Ota, the former being a public university and the latter a private university. The objectives of the study were to appraise if educational styles arouse interest of students in the industries of their discipline; to explore the effectiveness of entrepreneurial development strategy in education in universities that implements it; to see if the current university educational system stimulates entrepreneurial creativity in its students The methodology adopted was a mixed analysis of quantitative and qualitative parameters based on the survey design which relied on primary and secondary sources of gathering data, through the use of questionnaires and interview instruments. Three hundred (300) questionnaires were administered, and two hundred and fifty four (254) were returned. The study adopted quota and simple random sampling technique. The data was analyzed and presented using tables and percentages. The findings of this research portrays a huge disparity between the perception and conceptualization of entrepreneurship in the graduates of each university used in the study, this further highlights the significant impact of the system of teaching entrepreneurship within the two universities. The study shows that entrepreneurial education should be taught with field oriented and practical approaches. It was discovered that graduates from Covenant University are more apt to creating value, and are more self driven and willing to use opportunities available to them whether or not they have an employment. The study recommends that there should be a working partnership, bridging the gap between the higher institutions and the industry. Lecturers should have field experience to aid communication and teaching of the courses and Universities should work toward becoming entrepreneurial hubs for students and young entrepreneurs. The government should also focus more on the youth age group for entrepreneurship development in the country amongst other things critical to the development of the nation.

This paper presents a trend in the challenges in the youth unemployment with particular emphasis on Uganda taking northern Uganda as a case. Youth unemployment remains a serious development challenge in most developing countries with sub-Saharan African countries being the most affected. Despite the positive economic growth rates experienced in Africa over the past decade this growth has not generated sufficient and decent employment opportunities for the youth (AfDB et al., 2012, UNECA, 2011). In Uganda 64 percent of the youth (18-30 years) remained unemployed (UBoS 2014) yet three quarters of the population are below the age of 30 years. This implies that in the near future the proportion of the youth is bound to surpass the adults hence posing strain on the meager resources that is already eminent in the high unemployment rate. We used qualitative and quantitative methods in this study and sampled two districts (Gulu and Oyam). We assessed the effectiveness of the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) in addressing unemployment challenges and promoting job creation among the youth. The findings indicate that while the guidelines in the implementation of the programme were adhered to the budget for the start-up was largely inadequate and the delays in disbursement of the funds greatly affect the performance of the groups. Inadequate training before disbursement of the funds also affected the performance of the groups. Amidst the challenges noted, the paper concludes that to a greater extent the YLP is creating self-employment for youth and thus needs to be sustained.

Journal of human resource management, 2021

Young Entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2016

2014

Nigeria like most developing nations of the world is faced with myriad of problems ranging from poverty, unemployment, ethno-religious conflicts, to diseases among others. These situations pose great challenges to the very existence of individuals in most developing nations thereby calling for the training of educated men and women who can function effectively in the society in which they live. Information from media and day to day experiences reiterates the high rate of graduates unemployment in Nigerian. This problem is said to be traceable to the disequilibrium between labour market requirements and lack of essential employable skills by the graduates. This paper therefore examines the importance of entrepreneurship education as tool for reducing the alarming trend of graduates’ unemployment in the country. The methodology of research adopted is content analysis. The paper concludes by suggesting ways of boosting job and wealth creation through entrepreneurship education in Niger...

Africa has the fastest growing demographics in the world. Deep changes, which all have had an impact on the constitu-tion of its human capital, are affecting the African continent. A fast growing young population could be an asset for change, progress and dynamism, but also a threat to peace and security. This opens the way to an infinite number of opportunities for economic and social development if skilled young people are oriented towards promising economic sectors. While African countries have experienced an encouraging growth, however, growth is not inclusive. Africa remains also the second most unequal region in the world. While education is vital to the labour market, students should be given soft skills & human-centred values that bring out their humanity and binds them together as citizens. A disciplined, healthy, nourished and motivated labour force is required to produce and distribute the goods and services needed for sustained human development. Leadership teams that are committed and willing with positive attitude to facilitate the process of opening up greater oppor-tunities for every citizen are needed. Developing entrepreneurship policy is difficult. Entrepreneurial ecosystems are dynamic structures that do not respond in a linear manner to policy interventions. Nevertheless, policy can have a positive impact on the evolution of entrepreneur-ship in an economy and given the stakes, governments would do well take action to craft policies that are tailored to the needs of their entrepreneurs. Policymakers must set specific objectives for entrepreneurship policy. A policy to “support entre-preneurship” is in a best-case scenario underspecified and in a worst-case scenario misguided. An economy’s level of competi-tiveness affects each of those dimensions in distinct ways. While less competitive economies exhibit greater levels of early-stage entrepreneurial activity, economies that are more competitive have on average more ambitious and innovative entrepreneurs. Yet that also is too simplistic a summary. In countries that are more competitive, entrepreneurial individuals, including those with high growth expectations, are more often entrepreneurial for their employer, not for themselves. Entrepreneurial preconditions and business strategies combine with competitiveness to affect the make-up of entrepreneurship in an economy. The four preconditions encompass connections with entrepreneurs, awareness of opportunities, entrepreneurial skills and a willingness to take risks. Growth ambitions, innovation and international sales tend to be associated with each other, em-phasizing the importance of fostering all three, if the objective is to create jobs, innovative products and services and more globally competitive businesses (WEF & GEM, 2015). Key words: Youth, Employment, Markets, Finance, Policy & Strategy