One debate among business owners and policymakers' centre on whether higher education institutions (HEIs) are failing to transform the young generation by reorienting education to develop higher competencies, skills, values and behaviours. While previous studies have considered the importance of skills development and its assessment in many contexts, there appears to have been limited scholarly research on employability issues within the Higher education system (HES) in Nigeria. In seeking to address this, it is vital to understand how HEIs in Nigeria conceptualize generic skills and why HEIs have problems with teaching generic skills in its graduate programmes. By adopting a qualitative approach, based on interviews with senior academics, industry executives and final year undergraduates, this study finds that many of HEIs do not facilitate the teaching of high-level generic skills in their programmes. Some of the factors attributed to this include poor learning environment, lack of staff with industry experience and over-dependence on 'theoretical content' teaching. The findings are significant for re-orienting HE curriculum to align with the needs of the industry and society. Regarding, implications for policy, we recommend that enterprise education be mandatory in the curriculum for primary, secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria. Finally, we advocate more inclusive and interpretive research for greater understanding of the issues to offer useful data for policymaking and decision-making on the perspectives of preparing graduates for work.
This study explores how Nigerian higher education institutions can facilitate industry involvement in the design of programmes and activities that enhance the development of students’ knowledge and skills for business start-ups, leading to job creation. Using interview and focus group methodologies, the researchers obtained rich information from 50 participants, including higher education teachers, final year undergraduate students who had taken part in the compulsory Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme and industry executives with an understanding of how industry can make a meaningful contribution to learning in higher education. Focusing on four dominant themes from the thematic analysis, the authors analyse the factors that contribute to students’ knowledge and skill development. Building on human capital theory, they make recommendations for curriculum restructuring, renewed pedagogical approaches and competencies, building linkages between higher education and industry and career training and mentoring to enhance the development of students’ knowledge and skills for job creation.
This study examines the corporate social responsibilities (CSR) of multi-national companies operating in the Niger Delta Region. Data were obtained from questionnaires administered to 400 respondents drawn from the host communities and the companies. Secondary data were equally used. Data were analyzed using chi-square statistical tools at 5% level of significance and 2 degrees of freedom. Result revealed that CRS programmes of the multi-national companies are not adequate. The involvement of the host communities in the choice and execution of the programme are not satisfactory to the majority of the host communities. The study recommends that much is still expected from the multinational companies.
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