Importance of Entrepreneurial Skills to Office Technology and Management Graduates in Kaduna Polytechnic

ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to investigate the impact of entrepreneurship education to Office
Technology and Management graduates in Kaduna Polytechnic. The study aimed to identify the
types of entrepreneurial skills required of OTM graduates; identify the impact of entrepreneurial
skills on the performance of OTM graduates; identify the challenges of utilising entrepreneurial
skills among OTM graduates; and identify ways necessary to tackle the challenges of utilising
entrepreneurial skills among OTM graduates. Four (4) research questions were drawn to guide
the researcher. The review of related literature was made to know what the authors, journals and
other periodicals have written about the topic under study. A sample size of 141 was drawn from
the population of 217 which comprised of HNDII and NDII Regular students. A total number of
one hundred and forty one (141) questionnaires were produced and administered out of which one
hundred and thirty (130) were filled and returned. The returned questionnaire formed the basis
for the data analysis and interpretation. The statistical method used for analysis was mean
statistics. Based on the data analyzed and findings, the study revealed that entrepreneurship
education has significant impact on Office Technology and Management graduates in Kaduna
Polytechnic. More so, the study revealed that entrepreneurial skills enables OTM graduates with
strong entrepreneurial skills to bring innovative ideas to their workplaces. The study further
revealed that entrepreneurship ventures are saddled with lots of challenges, which includes
inadequate working capital, absence of infrastructural facilities, lack of adequate security,
and lack of adequate training and low standard of education. Hence, the study concluded that
entrepreneurship education gives room to acquire skills in computer operation and maintenance,
and entrepreneurial skills in keyboarding enables students to be fast and accurate in their work. The
study further concluded that entrepreneurial skills enables OTM graduates who possess this quality
to be more proactive in pursuing new projects, exploring untapped markets, and trying out
unconventional approaches. The study recommends among others that graduates should undergo
various training and development to sharpen their communication skills in order to utilize
entrepreneurial among themselves. Also, there should be provision of sufficient business
knowledge for utilization of entrepreneurial skills among graduates.