ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS FOR SMALL SCALE BUSINESS REQUIRED BY POLYTECHNIC OFFICE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT GRADUATES IN NORTHWESTERN GEOPOLITICAL ZONE, NIGERIA

Purpose of the Study The main purpose of this study was to determine the entrepreneurial skillsrequired by Polytechnic Office Technology and Management OTM graduates forrunning small sca

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The global economic recession has made Nigeria face multidimensional,political, economic, and social problems giving rise to high rate of unemployment andpoverty One of such social problems Nigeria has today, is over dependence ongovernment for the creation of jobs From every indication the over dependence ongovernment for job creation have lead to over-flow of graduate unemployment The rate

of increase in unemployment has been alarming lately A recent report from Bureau forstatistics put unemployment rate at 88 per cent with 49 per cent at urban cities and 37.9percent at the rural areas

The ever increasing trend of unemployment has proved that entrepreneurship isinevitable to curb it, ensure self-employment, and self-reliance In recognition of thisand to have a change of mindset, the Nigerian government/s have constantly pursuedeconomic policies that is geared towards self-reliance, and poverty alleviation, whichthrust has been manifested in programmes like National Directorate of Employment(NDE), and the rest aimed at helping the young graduates to acquire necessary skillsand funds that will enable them to become entrepreneurs However, all the lofty policiesmet with little success because there was no early foundation from the institutions ofhigher learning where these youths graduated from in this direction (Ezeh, 2011).Almost all the policies were focused on providing the citizens fish without showing themhow to catch fishes

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In response to this assertion, the federal government resorted to infuseentrepreneurship into the curriculum of our tertiary institutions through the Central Bank

of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with Centre for Entrepreneurship and DevelopmentResearch (CEDR) established in tertiary institutions like Universities and Polytechnicswith the aim of making the populace managers of their own, to train and retrain potentialgraduates through entrepreneurship education The CEDR service all otherdepartments in the Polytechnics

Entrepreneurship education according to Ezeh, (2011) is specialized traininggiven to students to acquire skills, ideas, and management abilities necessary for self-reliance It is the Entrepreneur who serves as the spark plug in the economy’s engine,activating and stimulating all economic activities

Study by Central Bank of Nigeria (2003) entrepreneurship and training for jobcreation reported that over 80 per cent of the Nigerian labour forces are employed bysmall and medium scale enterprises Advanced countries of the world like Japan,United States of America (USA) and so on, attained economic growth through small andmedium scale enterprises (Central Bank of Nigeria, 2003) Entrepreneurship education

in the curriculum of tertiary institutions like the Polytechnic has the potential to make itsrecipients self-reliant and job creators not job seekers, thereby relieving Governmentthe burden of creating jobs, establishing a positive, multiplier effect in the economy,which will reduce the level of poverty and embrace development This is premised onthe fact that when students are adequately trained on entrepreneurial skills in theirrespective areas of specialization, they will be able to establish a profitable private smallbusiness venture as entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are persons (individuals) who conceive the idea for a businessventure, gather the necessary human, material, financial and physical resources to startthe operations of the venture and grow it to the point where more people are added tothe organisation and they usually bear the most personal, environmental and financialrisk in beginning the venture An entrepreneur in the view of Anugwom (2002), is anindividual who engages in managerial activities of planning, controlling, organising,directing and co-ordinating any business to achieve the objectives of the enterprise.Entrepreneurs are the major actors in a nation’s private entrepreneurship sector Theact of entrepreneur is referred to as entrepreneurship (Osuala, 2008)

Entrepreneurship is the bedrock of economic growth in any nation The EuropeanCommission (EU) report (2008) refers to entrepreneurship as an individual’s ability toturn ideas into action It includes creativity, innovation and risk taking as well as ability toplan and manage projects in order to achieve objectives through application of therequired skills According to Timmons in Isike and Emoga (2008), entrepreneurship isthe process of planning small business venture, organising people and resources tocreate, develop and implement solution to a problem to meet people’s needs Isike andEmoga (2008) further described entrepreneurship as the willingness and ability toidentify business opportunities through creativity and innovation and establishingnecessary machinery to run business enterprise successfully According to the authors,entrepreneurship is usually about creating and running ones own small business

A small business enterprise in the views of Osadi, (2007); Isike & Emoga (2010)

is that business which is independently owned and managed by private individual tomeet up their desired income and their employment needs Also, Okoh and Egberi in

Anoluo (2011), views small business enterprise as one which possess the followingcharacteristics: managers are also the owners, capital is supplied and ownership is held

by an individual or small group; area of operation is mainly local, and relative size of thefirm within its industry must be small when compared with the biggest units in its field.Small scale enterprises have crucial roles to play in the process of economicdevelopment especially in a capital scale economy like Nigeria and North Western zone

in particular (Mamman, 2010)

The environment in which small scale business enterprise operate is constantlychanging and developing, as entrepreneurs adapt to the vagaries of the market,changing consumer habits, enhanced environmental regulations and so on (Anyakoha,2009) Based on these challenges, the polytechnic education curricula are beingrestructured with emphasis being placed on vocationalization and entrepreneurship

Polytechnic education is a form of tertiary education that inculcates vocationaland technical skills into the recipients (Ojetokun and Omale, 2010) It is a Vocationaland Technical Education (VTE) as enshrined in the National Policy of Education (NPE,2004) with the objectives to give training and impact the necessary skills for theproduction of craftsmen, technicians, technologists, applied scientists, and skilledpersonnel who shall be enterprising and self-reliant (NBTE, 2006) The National Boardfor Technical Education (NBTE) is the agency vested with the responsibility for qualitycontrol in Polytechnic programmes throughout the federation of Nigeria

In response to advancement in technology, the nomenclature ‘SecretarialStudies, have been changed to Office Technology and Management (OTM) OfficeTechnology and Management (OTM), programme is an example of restructuring

process in polytechnics where the students are exposed to the acquisition of vocationalskills in office and technology management as well as enterprise (Okwuanaso andObayi 2006) The OTM programme is designed to equip secretarial and office graduateswith practical, professional, entrepreneurial/vocational and socio-psychological workskills for employment in various fields of endeavour (NBTE in Okoro, 2010; Adelakin,2009) OTM is a programme that plays a major role in the building of economic base ofthe nation towards self-reliance as entrepreneurial opportunities exist therein (Ezeh,2011).

A Polytechnic Office Technology and Management (OTM) graduate withreference to this study is one who have been trained in and passed prescribed coursesafter 2 years of National Diploma (ND) and 2 years of Higher National Diploma (HND)(NBTE, 2004) This group of students are trained by OTM lecturers to be entrepreneurs.Office Technology and Management lecturers are seasoned business educators whoequip the OTM students with relevant skills in their core subjects while (CEDR) lecturersare trained specialists trained in entrepreneurship development in the polytechnics.Being entrepreneurial, Isike and Emoga (2008) said, means combining personalcharacteristic with other resources within ones environment and taking advantage ofthem for rewarding outcomes The entrepreneur’s most essential tool to succeed ishis/her skill and creative idea generation ability

Skill according to Uche, (2008) is the individual’s ability or abilities to performspecific tasks of assignment successfully Osinem (2008) also sees skill as the ability toperform an act expertly In the same vein, Webster, (2008) defined skill as the capacity

of a person to accomplish a task with desired precision and certainty Skill involves

practical knowledge in combination with cleverness, expertise, dexterity and ability toperform a function which could be acquired or learnt in school Skill in OTM isidentified in the study as paramount attributes of an entrepreneur whose aim is to meetthe satisfactory service desired of his/her customers

A wide range of skills are seen as entrepreneurial and useful to entrepreneurs.They include both personal attributes and behavioural skills (Ezeh, 2011) In addition tohaving personal attributes, behaviours and values associated with being enterprising,Ezeh, posit, entrepreneurs also need a range of skills to start-up, develop and growtheir business ventures Entrepreneurial skills therefore are those behaviours,knowledge, attributes, abilities and capabilities possessed by an entrepreneur to be able

to function effectively in a highly competitive environment The author stated that itinvolves an interrelated process of human resources development Entrepreneurial skill

in this study is the skills which help people look for opportunities to start theirbusinesses and improve business performance Government (federal, state and local)have to promote the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in order to reduceunemployment

In the opinion of Azubike (2006), acquisition of entrepreneurial skills meanspossessing the ability to generate good ideas, find and evaluate business opportunities,gather the necessary resources, initiate appropriate actions to ensure success, andimplement action to take advantage of the opportunities for rewarding outcome Theidea of entrepreneurship skills is relatively new It has been long realised that narrow,specific technical training fails to equip people for changes in both the economy and inoccupations Therefore, for OTM graduates to be able to achieve self employment

status, Ezeh (2011) stated that, they require more than occupational specifics or

“technical” skills to be competent in employment (paid or self) These skills, which could

be clusters of business planning, administrative management, personality traits,interpersonal communication, financial records management, marketing, andinformation technology skills

Good planning is a major factor in the success of a business venture Obviously

an entrepreneur needs a more detailed plan before launching into a business to assessthe feasibility of the business venture Possession planning skills will enable thegraduates to critically develop business ideas, recognise opportunities in theenvironment, take decision to go into the business, source and organise the essentialresources for starting the business

The skills that will enable the entrepreneur organise the resources like money,man, machinery is the administrative skills According to Okechukwu, (2009) theadministrative skills include: locating the business environment, identifying product line,recruiting staff, motivation, leading and directing the work force for the effective use ofmonies acquired, equipment and other facilities for smooth operation and production,delegate and supervise responsibilities, having a visionary leadership inspires others towork with you towards that vision through effective interpersonal relationship

To achieve the organisational goals in any business require working with people(Okechukwu, 2009) With high growth in the service sector and a corresponding decline

in large scale manufacturing and production, more workers have direct contact withcolleagues and customers and interpersonal skill is essential in this case Theentrepreneur need to be people oriented, have good listening habit, communicate

effectively, be trusted by all, get along with others, having good time management andothers These skills will be effective when combined with the personality characteristics

of the entrepreneur

Personality traits, according to Coon (2004) is the stable qualities that a personshows in most situations There are some in-born qualities or potentials of an individualthat naturally make him an entrepreneur Some of the characteristics or behaviors arethat they tend to be more opportunity, high level of creativity and innovation, found to beoptimistic, emotionally resilient, shows commitment and perseverance, display apositive self image, have high integrity and above all visionary These skills enables theentrepreneurs manage their finance effectively

Also important is the financial records management skills Olatunbosun (2006)conceptualised financial management activities as that which is concerned with theplanning and controlling of financial resources of an enterprise Negotiation of financialassistance or funds for running a private business enterprise is not an easy task as thefinanciers go beyond the physical structures in the organisation to access the potentials

of their would be customer They look at the level of entrepreneurial skills possessed bythe individual/s Accurate financial records management helps in forecasting theentrepreneurial market

The products/services of entrepreneur must get to the consumers throughmarketing which plays significant role in the conduct of entrepreneurial activities.Okpan, (2006) identified marketing skills of the entrepreneurs to include: ability tocapture and retain the attention of customers; establish and maintain contact withcustomer, determine consumer needs, promote and sell the organisation products,

analyze demand and supply situations, effective market and information research.Modern markets use Information Technology skills extensively (Okechukwu, 2009).

Information Technology (IT) according to Bongotons and Onyenwe, (2010),occupies a strategic role in the scheme of human existence through whichcommunication of information product development is facilitated IT according toWikipedia, (2008) is the capability to electronically input, process, store, output, transmitand receive data or information In this era of technology modernisation, IT skill is verycrucial to Polytechnic OTM graduates

Polytechnic OTM graduates have the propensity to make a direct and positiveimpact on Nigerian economy If the OTM graduates are trained to acquire thenecessary entrepreneurial skills, they can engage in small scale business of their ownfor a comfortable living (Atueyi, 2010) This development will help to bridge the gap ineducation mismatch, reduce unemployment problems, reduce the rate of businessfailure, raise the Gross National Product (GNP) of the economy, raise the income andalso make citizens self- reliant This makes it imperative to find out skills that willenhance entrepreneurial capabilities of Polytechnic OTM graduates for self employment

on graduation

Statement of Problem

The idea of entrepreneurial skills is relatively new in educational and businesssectors It has been realized by the educational institutions that due to incidence ofrapid unemployment trend that narrow, specific technical training received in schools fail

to equip graduates for changes in both the economy and in occupations The concept is

that people (graduates) need more than occupational specific or “technical” skills to becompetent in any form of employment (self or paid).

Consequently, moving from large scale manufacturing and production economy

to a service economy sector, more employees have to deal directly with colleagues andcustomer Quite clearly more skills are needed in order to be judged as competent inthe modern economy The skills are not of single type There are interpersonal-communication skills, which involve interaction with other people in response to thegrowth in team working environment, and more direct customer contact Increasedresponsibility and changing work roles means that people need to have planning,administrative and personal characteristics It is also expected that young graduatesshould understand the market economy a little better Changes in technology meansthat people require to be able to use Information Communication Technology (ICT)equipments and system These different types of skills are often grouped together ascore entrepreneurial skills

However, due to other significant changes in the modern economy, enterprisesare becoming smaller, and small scale enterprises are being created Large enterprisesare broken into divisions, enterprises are downsizing as technology replaces routinemanual work, project teams are created with wider responsibilities

In the wider economy, small enterprises are seen to be the engine of economicgrowth – most people work for small and medium enterprises and government nowencourage this trend with training, grants and tax incentives More graduates areexpected to set up and run small businesses instead of usual dependence ongovernment to provide jobs However, North-western geo-political zone has been noted

for ranking low in entrepreneurial aspirations This situation is confirmed in the study ofSalihu in Mamman, 2010 with the states in the zone ranking lowest in poverty andentrepreneurial aspirations table This has lead to the interest in how to developentrepreneurial skills in the zone.

However, Nigeria have in recent time been experiencing the collapse and totalextinction of small scale businesses owned by graduates leaving a high mortality ratewhich Ikeme (2007) put at 80 per cent failure in five to eight years of operations.Anecdotal report showed that the businesses fail because most people who start thebusiness seemed to lack the critical skills and motivation sets required to start andmanage the business to growth

No doubt therefore, most OTM graduates in the North-western geo-politicalzone go into starting small businesses with the assumption that as they know how to

“do” the specific “technical” skill cluster of a business, they would, therefore, know how

to run a small scale business successfully The issue is, if the OTM graduates possessthe core entrepreneurial skill clusters, would they have expanded more than theirpresent scope? The thrust of this study put in question form therefore, is: what are theentrepreneurial skills required by the polytechnic OTM graduates for success in smallscale business on graduation?

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study was to determine the entrepreneurial skillsrequired by Polytechnic Office Technology and Management (OTM) graduates forrunning small scale business enterprises Specifically, the study sought to determine:

1 the entrepreneurial skills required in planning a small scale business by thePolytechnic OTM graduates,

2 the personality traits required in small scale business by the Polytechnic OTMgraduates,

3 the administrative management skills required by Polytechnic OTM graduates formanaging small scale business;

4 the interpersonal communication skills required by Polytechnic OTM graduatesfor managing small scale business,

5 the financial recording management skills required by Polytechnic OTMgraduates for managing small scale business;

6 the marketing management skills required by Polytechnic OTM graduates formanaging small scale business,

7 the information technology skills required by Polytechnic OTM graduates formanaging small scale business

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study, will be of immense benefit to the Office Technology andManagement students, lecturers in the polytechnics, curriculum planners, governmentand the society The business planning skills that will be identified in the study willprovide the students with the planning competencies they need to establish small scalebusiness enterprise The administrative skills identified in the study will provide thestudents with the planning competencies in the administration needed to ensure the

constructive coordination of management effort at all levels into an effective instrumentfor achieving corporate objectives In addition, the financial records management skills

to be identified in this study will enable the students to be aware of the ways of gettingthe fund for business, and use the fund effectively The personality traits to be identified

in the study will enable the students to know the innate potentials in them as they affectthe establishment and management of small scale business enterprise The marketingskills identified by this study will provide the students with the knowledge of marketingmix; enable the graduates to identify their customers and their needs Interpersonalcommunication skills identified in this study will enable the graduates to relate andcommunicate effectively with their customers, clients, funders, bankers and maintaincordial relationship with their workers Furthermore, the IT skills will enable thegraduates to recognize the relevant ICT that is needed for running a small scalebusiness in ICT related areas

The office technology lecturers in the Polytechnics will also benefit from thefindings of this study in the sense that their perception of entrepreneurship will changemaking them to be entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial skills to be identified in this studywill hopefully enlighten the OTM lecturers on a wide range of business planningstrategies, administrative, interpersonal communication; personality traits; marketing;financial recording and IT skills required by OTM graduates for the establishing andmanaging small scale business enterprise Such knowledge would provide the basis onwhich the lecturers will plan their lessons and teach the students the right type of skillsneeded for productive work

The result of the study would be of benefit to curriculum planners andprogramme builders The result of the study will help the curriculum planners toidentify, plan and develop the curriculum that will equip the OTM graduates with theentrepreneurial skills needed to work and become effective in the world of work.Program builders like National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), NABTEB, NUC,would use the result to improve on the entrepreneurship development program inpolytechnics.

The Government would also find the study very useful Government, through thefindings can articulate policy that will enhance and enrich entrepreneurship education inall tertiary institutions Such policies would assist government in the allocation of fundand other resources for entrepreneurship education

The society as a whole would benefit from the findings of this study Theimplementation of the curriculum, so designed incorporation the entrepreneurial skills,will produce a pool of OTM graduates who will be enterprising and productive orfunctional in the society Invariably, this will help to reduce the rate of unemployment inthe country and its associated vices Graduates with the required skills would be useful

in the general economic transformation of society

Finally, future researchers who are interested in doing work on entrepreneurship,will be able to use the suggested areas for further study, replicate the work Suchresearch would build on the findings of the study to create their literature for thesuccessful completion of their study

Research Questions

1. What are the entrepreneurial skills required in planning a small scale business

by the Polytechnic OTM graduates?

2 What are the personality traits required in small scale business by the

Polytechnic OTM graduates?

3 What are the administrative management skills required by Polytechnic OTM

graduates for managing small scale business?

4 What are the interpersonal communication skills required by Polytechnic OTM

graduates for managing small scale business?

5. What are the financial recording management skills required by Polytechnic OTMgraduates for managing small scale business?

6. What are the marketing management skills required by Polytechnic OTMgraduates for managing small scale business?

7. What are the information technology skills required by Polytechnic OTMgraduates for managing small scale business?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and weretested at 0.05 level of significance:

Ho1 There is no significant difference in the mean responses of Polytechnics OTM

lecturers and lecturers at Centre for Entrepreneurship and Development (CEDR)

on the planning skills required for small scale business by the Polytechnic OTMgraduates.

Ho2 There is no significant difference in the mean responses of the Polytechnic OTM

lecturers and lecturers at Centre for Entrepreneurship Development on thePersonality Traits required for small scale business by Polytechnic OTMgraduates

Ho3 There is no significant difference in the mean responses of the federal

Polytechnic OTM lecturers and the state polytechnic lecturers on theAdministrative Management skills required for small scale business by thePolytechnic OTM graduates

Ho4 There is no significant difference in the mean responses of the Polytechnic OTM

lecturers and the state polytechnic lecturers on the Interpersonal Communicationskills required for small scale business by the Polytechnic OTM graduates

Ho5 There is no significant difference in the mean responses of the Polytechnic OTM

lecturers and lecturers at Centre for Entrepreneurship Development on theFinancial Records Management required for small scale business by thePolytechnic OTM graduates

Ho6 There is no significant difference in the mean responses of the Polytechnic OTM

lecturers and lecturers at Centre for Entrepreneurship Development on theMarketing Management skills required for small scale business by thePolytechnic OTM graduates

Ho7 There is no significant difference in the mean responses of the federal

Polytechnic OTM Lecturers and the state polytechnic lecturers on the InformationTechnology skills required for small scale business by the Polytechnic OTMgraduate

Delimitation of the Study

This study was delimited to identification of entrepreneurial skills required byPolytechnics OTM graduates for success in a small scale business enterprise ongraduation The identification was made to include entrepreneurial skills required byOTM graduates for planning a small scale business enterprise, personality traits,administrative management skills; interpersonal communication skill; financial recordsmanagement skills; marketing management skills; information technology operationskills The respondents for the study was delimited to Polytechnics Office Technologyand Management (OTM) lecturers drawn from the Polytechnics (state and federal) inthe North-western zone currently running the OTM programme Only the lecturers wereused for the study Also this study did include the medium and large scale businessenterprises

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The literature review is carried out under the following headings:

1 Conceptual Framework

- Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneur

- Office Technology and Management

- Approaches to Entrepreneurial Skill Acquisition

- Entrepreneurial Skills Required by Polytechnic OTM Graduates

3 Related Empirical Studies

4 Summary of Literature Reviewed

Conceptual Framework of the Study

Conceptual framework according to Eboh (2009) is a schematic description andillustration of the causative mechanisms and relationship deducible from the researchproblems Conceptual framework depicts a schema providing structural meaning andlinkages among major concepts or variables in a phenomena being investigated, theirinterdependence and relationship with each other With reference to this study,conceptual framework means a coherent set of ideas arranged in such a manner thatmakes it easy for readers to understand the activities carried out in the study

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Conceptual framework is used in research to help outline possible course of action orpresent preferred approach To the author, conceptual framework can act like a mapthat gives coherent direction to empirical inquiry The conceptual framework for thestudy is presented a schema showing the structural linkages between variables orconcepts of interest in a phenomenon being investigated, their interdependence orrelationships with each other Schemer means a chart, or diagram showing orderlyrelated parts With reference to this study, schemer means a chart showing relatedactivities such as the relationship between polytechnics education, OTM graduates andacquisition of entrepreneurship skills for success in small scale business ventures ongraduation.

Concept of Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship is a key driver of any economy in the sense that majority ofjobs are created by small scale business started by entrepreneurial minded individualswho later created big business (Abdulkadir, 2011) Since the Middle Ages,Entrepreneurship has been defined by various professions to encompass many things(Igbo, 2006) The entrepreneur as seen by Abdulkadir, (2011) is an anchor, innovator,

or a developer of technology However, the term entrepreneurship has historicallyreferred to the efforts of an individual who takes risks in creating a successful businessenterprise More recently, entrepreneurship has been conceptualized as a process thatcan occur in organisations of all types and size (Kurger, 2004) According to Kurger, noperson, act or product is creative/entrepreneurial or non-creative/non-entrepreneurial initself Judgment of creativity the author says are inherently communal, relying heavily

on individuals expertise within a domain In consonance with the assertion, it is an

agreeable fact that in business, it is necessary to have an appropriate, useful andactionable idea before it can be accepted as creative It must somehow influence theway business gets done – for instance by improving a product or by opening up a newway to approach a process (Amabile in Kurger, 2004).

Entrepreneurship is defined in different perspectives which Kaufmann and Dant

in Kurger, (2004) categories as following: traits perspective; processes and or activitiesperspectives In the trait perspective, the entrepreneur is assumed to be a particularpersonality type It was found that entrepreneurship researchers initially concentrated

on a trait approach and that it is only during the eighties and later, that the researchersstarted to focus on what entrepreneurs do rather than on what their character traits are(Kaufmann and Dant in Kurger, 2004) In trait perspective, the entrepreneur is seen as:

 An individual who possesses qualities of risk-taking, leadership,motivation, and the ability to resolve crises (Osuala, 2008)

 Leaders and major contributors to the process of creative destruction(Hisrich, Peters and Shepherd 2007);

 An individual who undertakes uncertain investments and possesses anunusually low level of uncertain aversion (Kaufmann & Dant in Kurger2004)

In the trait approach, the entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviours also includeopenness to new information and people, motivation, making independent and self-directed decisions, the ability to see opportunities in a rapidly changing uncertainenvironment, persistence, motivation to achieve, personal integrity, being accountable,

capacity to manage and organise as well as specific categories of culturalcharacteristics (Johnson 2001 in Kurger, 2004).

However, this trait perspective did not go without criticisms A common criticism

of this perspective is that these traits are difficult to test or measure, and that it cannot

be proven that a set of essential entrepreneurial characteristics exist Therefore, itbecame more appropriate to accept the views of Jennings in Kurger (2004) that there is

a continuum along which several types of entrepreneurs exist Some researchers seeentrepreneurship as a process and not personality trait Two broad dimensions ofentrepreneurial process include: opportunity recognition and information search andresource acquisition and business strategies In the view of Kurger (2004), definitions ofentrepreneurship using the process perspective are:

 Entrepreneurship is the creation of new enterprise

 Entrepreneurship is the creation of new organisations

 Entrepreneurship introduce new combination of the factors of production that,when combined with credit, break into static equilibrium of the circular flow ofeconomic life and raise it to a new level;

 Entrepreneurship is the process of extracting profits from new, unique andvaluable combinations of resources in an uncertain and ambiguous environment.Entrepreneurship according to Nwaogwugwu and Ugiagbe (2008); Egboh (2009);Etonyeaku, (2009); Aruwa and Obiazi, (2010) is the process of perceiving businessopportunity, mobilizing resources (financial, human and otherwise) and initiatingactions(s) under an enterprise which characterized by risk taking, innovation andcreativity to meet individual groups or societal needs

There are almost as many definitions of entrepreneurship as there are scholars,and books on the subject (Petrin,1994) According to the author, entrepreneurshipmeans primarily innovation, and risk taking, as well as a market stabilizing force It alsomeans starting, owning and managing a small scale business Definingentrepreneurship as risk-taking neglects other major elements of what is usually taught

of as entrepreneurship, such as a well developed ability to recognise unexploitedmarket opportunities Therefore, the most appropriate definition of entrepreneurship thatwould fit into the context argued here Petrin further says, is the broader one, the onewhich defines entrepreneurship as “a force that mobilizes other resources to meetunmet market demand” “The ability to create and build something from practicallynothing” “The process of creating value by pulling together a unique package ofresources to exploit an opportunity” The condition of being an entrepreneur, the roleand function of entrepreneur” (Hisrich, Peters and Stephen, 2002)

Entrepreneurship involves the ability to set up a business enterprise as differentfrom being employed (Anolue, 2011) Nzom (2006); Iloka (2008) in Anolue (2011)defines entrepreneurship as the process of creating value by bringing together a uniquepackage of resources to exploit an opportunity Also Udeh in Anolue describedentrepreneurship as the art of generating business ideas, identify investmentopportunities, formulating organisation objectives, conducting market research andsurveys and explore the resources available to start up small scale businessenterprises

Small scale business enterprise according to Osadi (2007) is a business that isindependently owned and managed in its dominant field of operations by private

individuals to meet up their desired income and employment needs Okoh and Egberi(2008) views small scale business enterprise as one which possess the followingcharacteristics: usually the managers are also the owners, capital is supplied and theownership is held by an individual or small group; the area of operation is mainly local;and the relative size of the firm within its industry must be small when compared withbiggest units in its field

The entrepreneur is significant because the entrepreneur is the dynamic forcethat disturbs the economic equilibrium through innovation by creating an entrepreneurialprocess (Irevisan, Grundling and De Jager in Kurger, 2004) The entrepreneur lies atthe heart of the entrepreneurial process According to Wielchnan in Kurger (2004),Entrepreneurs as innovators, are people who create new, combinations of these factorsand then present them to the market for assessment by consumers The value added,Wielchman observed cannot always be measured in purely financial terms Theentrepreneur, the author said, exists in a state of tension between actual and possible.The tension is manifested in three dimensions that is, the financial, the personal and thesocial The entrepreneur as key person in the process seeks suitable businessopportunity and develops a framework for the commercialization of the product orservice The entrepreneur is usually understood with reference to individual business

According to Ezeh (2011); Atuenyi (2011) an entrepreneur has rightly been identified

with the individual, as success of enterprise depends upon imagination, vision,innovativeness and risk taking Wikipedia (2010) supported that entrepreneurship is acreative and innovative skill and adapting response to environment In the view ofShane and Venkataraman (2000) entrepreneurship is the process of searching out

opportunities in the market place and arranging resources required to exploit theseopportunities for long term gains

Dollinger (1995) described four factors that serves as impetus forentrepreneurship:

 Negative displacement, that is, maginalisation of individuals/groups fromthe core of society;

 Being between things for instance, being between student life and acareer;

 Positive push for example, a career path that offers entrepreneurialopportunities or an education that gives the individual the appropriateknowledge and opportunity; and

 Positive pull – mentors and partners encouraging the individuals (p 35).Two forces according to Welchman in Kurger, (2004) are said to work driving thegraduates from the conventional labour pool to the entrepreneurial pull such factors.Pull factors are those, which encourage graduates to become entrepreneurs by virtue ofthe attractiveness of the entrepreneurial option This factor seems more feasible in theSouthern states of the federation than the Northern states - North-western zone inparticular Some important pull factors Kurger (2004) observe include: freedom to workfor one self; sense of achievement to be gained from running one’s own businessenterprise; freedom to pursue a personal innovation; and a desire to gain the socialstandard achieved by entrepreneurs

Push factors are those, which encourage entrepreneurship by making theconventional option less attractive They include: the limitations of financial rewards

from conventional jobs; being unemployed in the established economy; job insecurity;career limitations and setbacks in a conventional jobs; the inability to pursue a personalinnovation in a conventional job, and being a misfit in an established organisation Thepull and push factors that are impetus for entrepreneurship, not withstanding, there are,also, some inhibitors Inhibitors are things that prevent the potential entrepreneur fromfollowing an entrepreneurial route, no matter how attractive an option it might appear.Some inhibitors according to Kurger (2004) include: inability to get hold of start-upcapital; high cost of start-up capital; high risks presented by business environment; lack

of training for entrepreneurs; legal restrictions on business activities; lack of efficacy; a feeling that the role of entrepreneur has a poor image by graduates A lack ofsuitable human resources, and potential inertia(Kurger 2004)

self-Entrepreneurship, Aminu, (2009) posit, plays an important role in the economicgrowth and development of a nation Its purposeful activity Aminu said include: initiation,promotion and distribution of wealth and service An entrepreneur is a critical factor ineconomic development and an integral part of the socio-economic transformation Itsrisk taking activity and challenging task, needs utmost devotion, total commitment andgreater sincerity with fullest involvement for his personal growth and personality

The entrepreneurial motivation is one of the most important factors whichaccelerate the pace of economic development by bringing the people to undertake riskbearing activities The young entrepreneur should be motivated to come out withdetermination to do something of their own and also to contribute to the national incomeand wealth in the economy Ezeh (2011) highlighted the characteristics of anentrepreneur as follows:

1 He is a person who develops and owns his own enterprise

2 He is a moderate risk taker and works under uncertainty for achieving the goal

3 He is innovative

4 He peruses the deviant pursuits

5 Reflects strong urge to be independent

6 Persistently tries to do something better

7 Dissatisfied with routine activities

8 Prepared to withstand the hard life, and others (p 22)

Concept of Skill

Concept of skills and entrepreneurial skills are many, but they centre on theability to seize opportunities, deal with uncertainty, gather necessary resources, andorganise business process to pursue specific goals (http://www.gsu.edu/-&www.sbp/entrepre.htm) Retrieved on 7th April, 2010 Skills as basic ability is the means

by which man adjust to life A person’s attitude and work functions are required andnecessary antidotes suggesting the suitable skills performance and acquisition of same

by going through a given work sample In the work place, skill is what the workers give

in exchange for numeration Bodell, et al (1991) If the skill (or the cluster of skillspopularly referred to as aptitudes) given is satisfactory, the worker gets satisfaction andthe employer gets satisfactoriness in correspondence This process, if sustainedculminates in promotion, retaining and prolonged tenure that leads to productivity(Adeyemo, 2003; Adeyemo, 2009)

In a classroom situation, skill is the ability to perform some tasks creditability Up

to a point, the more practice in the doing of specific task the faster and better they can

be done McCarthy (1972) has identified six scales and eighteen skills that can besorted and grouped to describe various aptitudes in students for placement, when thepromotion and remediation is a highly treasured experience which every OTM graduatemust possess

Skill is thought of as a quality of performance which does not depend solely upon

a person’s fundamental, innate capacities but must be developed through training,practice and experience Although skill depends essentially on learning, it also includesthe concepts of efficiency and economy in performance Modern concepts of skill stressthe flexibility with which a skilled operator reaches a given end on different occasionsaccording to precise circumstances However, it must be reiterated that even thoughbasic human capacities are not sufficient to produce skills, they form the necessarybasis of their development; skills represent particular ways of using capacities in relation

to environmental demands, with human being and external situation together forming afunctional system (Adeyemo, 2009)

Steinhoff and Burges, in Igberahaha, (2008) pointed out that it takes special skills

to succeed as an entrepreneur These skills are entrepreneurship knowledge, attitude,skills and ability (ASA) Skill is a special ability to do something well, especially asgained by learning and practices From their definition, most skills come by learning andpracticing

Entrepreneurial Skills

The total capital that a person possesses, or can acquire, is made upofeconomic, human, social and cultural imputs (Kurger, 2004) Depending on the nature

of the business, the people involved, and the contextual circumstances, components of

a person’s total capital will have entrepreneurial value, that is, they are of some worth inrelation to the entrepreneurial process and enterprise (Firkin in Kurger 2004) According

to Firkin, when taken together, these components form a person’s entrepreneurialcapital that can be employed in the creation, development and maintenance of thatenterprise

The construct “entrepreneurial Skills” according to Kurger (2004) includes variousskills that differentiate the entrepreneur from others (managers) The choice of conceptincluded in such a construct is based on those skills that differentiate an entrepreneurialcareer from other careers in terms of what the person would need to be successful insuch a career Accordingly, Sexton and Kasrda, Van Vuuren and Nieman in Kurger,virtually every career in business involve some combination of knowledge, techniqueand people skills but few involve the integration in combination of all functionalknowledge and skills to the extent that entrepreneurial activity does While theentrepreneur may borrow ideas from other people, the author said, he/she first need toimplement these ideas before they can become entrepreneurial act (Entrepreneurship)

Van Vuuren and Nieman in Kurger (2004) further proposed that entrepreneurs, inaddition to being strategic, need the following entrepreneurial skills:

 Creativity and innovation – Entrepreneurs are able to blend imaginative andcreative thinking with systematic, logical process ability (Kuratko and Hodgell inKurger 2004)

 Risk taking – Generally, people are either risk takers or avoiders In other words,risk taking is seen as a level of the propensity on the side of the individual It is,however, proven that this propensity to take risk can be developed especially ifrisk can be fully understood by the entrepreneur (Vuuren and Nieman in Kurger2004)

 Identification of Opportunities – While opportunity recognition is often considered

to be a critical step in the entrepreneurial process, limited empirical research hasbeen conducted about this process (Ucbasaran, Westhead and Write 2001)

 Ability to have vision for growth – A vision for growth also goes hand in hand withsituation specific motivation (Baran and Vehickaite, 2008) The authors foundthat higher levels of entrepreneurial motivation did indeed shape organisationstructure, processes and even work

 Ability to interpret successful role models – Most successful entrepreneurs follow

a pattern of apprenticeship, preparing to become entrepreneurs by gaining therelevant experience from role models (Timmons in Kurger 2004)

Entrepreneurial skills are seen by Gibbs in Kurger as being variously synonymous withthe following:-

 Basic interpersonal skills, core skills or transferable skills, such ascommunication planning and presentation as well as those skills associated with

personal enterprising behaviours which may be exhibited in a range context, notpurely business;

 Setting up and running an independent owner-managed business;

 Managing dynamic growing business, business with high risk of failure orqualified, for example, in marketing, financial management, productionmanagement and human resource management; and

 Attaining greater insight into the world of work

Business skills- Entrepreneurial performance results from a combination ofindustry knowledge, general management skills, people skills and personal motivation(Wiechman in Kurger 2004) Generally, business skills are seen as the following:Managerial skills, financial skills, marketing skills legal skills operational skills humanresource management skills communication skills business planning skills

Jones, George and Hill, (2000) in Kurger (2004) also summarised the skills in clusters:

Technical skills: Having job specific knowledge and techniques that are

required to perform an organisational role For instance, the manager of a businesscentre may need type-setting skills to fit into the centre in the absence of the typist orcomputer operator(s), accounting and book keeping skills to keep track of receipts andcost to check mate the workers and to administer the payroll, and aesthetic skill toproduce neat job for customers

Human skills: The ability to understand, alter, lead, and control behaviour of

other individuals and groups, the ability to communicate and motivate people and tomould individuals into a cohesive team distinguishing effective from ineffective workers

Conceptual skills: The ability to analyse and diagnose a situation and to

distinguish between cause and effect Planning and organising require a high level ofconceptual skill Formal education and training, according to the authors, are veryimportant in helping workers develop conceptual skills

In the same vein, Hisrich, Peters and Shepherd (2007); Hisrich and Peters(2002) grouped the skills required by entrepreneurs into three clusters; technical skills,business management skills, and personal entrepreneurial skills

Technical skills: These encompass skills in writing, listening, oral presentation,

organising, coaching, being a team player as well as possessing technical know-how,technological skills – skill in handling modern technologies

Business Management skills: These are areas involved in starting, developing

and managing an enterprise Also, skills in decision-making, marketing management,financing, accounting, production, control, and negotiation are essential in creating andgrowing a new business venture

Personal entrepreneurial skills: These involve inner control (discipline), risk taking,

being innovative, being change oriented, being persistent and being a visionary leader,self awareness and self motivation Lavinsky, (2005); stated that the entrepreneurialskills and motivation sets the OTM graduate must have in addition to the technical skills

to build a successful and enduring business include: creativity and innovation,organizational development, management and people development, sales andmarketing, financial management and operations and systems management ,leadership, in addition to entrepreneurial personal trait For the purpose of this study, theskills required by the Polytechnic OTM graduates is grouped in the following cluster:

Planning skills, professional operations skills (technical), business management andorganisation skills, Human/Interpersonal relations skills, Personal characteristicpotentials and information and communication technology skills

Office Technology and Management

At the inception of the Nigerian polytechnic system of education, SecretarialStudies was one of the foremost courses that were mounted alongside several othercourses in the polytechnics both at the National Diploma (ND) and Higher NationalDiploma (HND) levels A course specification and guideline was put in place by theNBTE in 1989, to ensure minimum academic standard (Okoro 2010)

Currently, almost everything about secretarial profession has undergonerevolutionary transformation Even the name “Secretarial Studies” has been changed toOffice Technology and Management (OTM) (Okwuanaso & Obayi, 2006) For the OTMgraduates to be effective in today’s’ work environment, it became imperative for tertiaryinstitutions like the polytechnics to recognise these changes and reverse theircurriculum to contain these new knowledge and skills

This is in response to Uperaft and Goldsmith, (2000) report that higher education needs

to be transformed due to the rapid changes in technology

In line with the above statement, Esene, (2011) acknowledged that the NBTEnew OTM curriculum is meant to remedy the shortcomings inherent in the oldsecretarial studies curriculum The expansion in it, in the area of ICT and the inclusion

of entrepreneurship is designed to adequately and sufficiently prepare and strengthenthe new OTM graduates for entry-level employment, self-employment or self-reliance inthe competitive world of work

Office Technology and Management (OTM) programme was recently designed by theNational Board for Technical Education in conjunction with UNESO (2004) to replace thesecretarial studies programme

The OTM programme is designed to equip secretarial and office students toacquire vocational skills in Office Technology, Management and socio-psychologicalwork skills for employment in various fields of endeavour (NBTE 2006) OfficeTechnology and Management (OTM), according to Okoro and Amagoh (2008) is anefficient, effective productive and functional education, which leads itself to self-employment, self-reliance, paid-employment, and consequently self-actualization.Esene (2001), said that OTM, by its nature, scope and contents, help the recipients ofthe course programme to acquire relevant knowledge and skills in order to satisfy theargument for self-development and self-reliant On issue of self-development, Akinola

in Esene (2011), noted that it was the desire for self-development coupled with the highrate of unemployment in the country today, that is forcing school leavers to look tothemselves rather than to the government for a means of making a living, and OTMgraduates are not left out in the drive for self-reliance To buttress this point, a researchstudies conducted by Agomuo, (2007), shows that OTM graduates have been soenterprising as to set up secretarial/business institutes, employment bureaus whichliaise with employers and link job-seekers with available suitable openings and morerecently, information and communication centres

The National Boards for Technical Education (NBTE) in collaboration withUNESCO/ILO, (2004), evolved a new programme tagged Office Technology andManagement (OTM) to end the long debate on replacing the secretarial studies

programme which has been in place since the inception of the Nigerian polytechnicsystem A new course specification and curriculum was development for OTM whichhas two year each for both the National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma(HND) (NBTE, 2004).

The subjects offered in the OTM programme are divided according to NBTEspecifications into (a) special areas which include secretarial studies, techniques inoffice management control; (b) information and communication technology applicationwhich includes ICT, word processing, computer appreciation and web page design; and(c) general education relating to contemporary problem usually called general studies

As it is now, the new curriculum of OTM as opposed to the old secretarial studies,according to Esene, (2011) consist of five main components of course programmenamely:

- General Studies/Education;

- Foundation Courses;

- Professional Courses;

- Entrepreneurship Development;

- Supervised Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES)

The new programme amidst numerous changes is loaded with several courses inInformation and Communication Technology (ICT) alongside these other professionalcourses This development has brought about a new phase of office programme asoffered in the polytechnics and some new technical skills for the professionals tocontend with (Ezeh, 2011)

The emergence of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in thesphere of teaching and learning of office courses has brought with it obvious changesand challenges that demand innovative pedagogical paradigm such that what wastaught a year ago, might need an update in the current year This assertion agrees withthe views of Agbakoba-Osagie and Adedoyin (2002) that along with technologies andbusiness practices, some skills/competences are changing so quickly that they areoutdated within few months of their introduction Hence Rodam and Rosas, (2003)stressed the need for educational institutions to adjust to the technological changes andforms of business organisation to ensure production of saleable/functional workforce.The new OTM programme definitely demands new skills and competences if theobjectives of VTE/Business education as enshrined in the National Policy on Education(FGN 2004) will perform as desired (Okoro, 2010)

OTM courses of Polytechnics are designed to equip graduates with theknowledge and skills required to meet the dynamic nature of the ever changing nature

of the world of work OTM students of Polytechnic must of necessity acquire theknowledge and have the ability and skills if they are to remain relevant in the societythey live in The functionality of OTM graduates depend to a large extent, on theacquisition of these requisite skills update wherever they find themselves, whether inpaid employment or self-employment (Peter, 2011)

OTM is also, an integral part of Business Education which according to Okoroand Amagoh, (2008), is a productive and functional education which leads to self-reliance in order to be self- employed Business Education, to which Office Technologyand Management belongs, is an educational process which has its primary aim as the

preparation of people for roles in enterprises as employees, entrepreneurs oremployers Okoro and Amagoh further stated that Business Education which is avocational course, is currently being faced the shortage of competent teachers, inadequate teaching facilities (equipment, machines and materials) and insufficientcontact hours for the core courses Okolo and Okoli (2000) asserted that this resulted toVocational Technical Education (VTE) (OTM) graduates are ill equipped to be calledtrained and skilled entrepreneurs Osuala, (2009) defines business education as aprogramme of instruction, which consists of two parts: (1) Office education and (2)General business education

Office education as described by Osuala, in Etonyeaku, (2009) is a vocationaleducational programme meant for office career through initial or refresher courses andupgrading education that leads to employability and advancement in office occupation.Therefore, office Technology and Management is the office education aspect ofBusiness Education which according to Aliyu, (2010) is education for business ortraining in business skill required for use in business offices, clerical occupation andbusiness quality analysis According to Etonyeaku (2009), Business Education is aprogramme that has two major purposes: to provide training for specific jobs and todevelop ability to use these skills in the business of environment The course of training,therefore, involves adequate acquisition of skills and development of office skills that arerelated to the ever-changing business oriented society

Osuala, (2008) categorized the employment opportunity for Office Technologyand Management graduates in three main areas as: wage, consulting, andentrepreneurial employments The National Policy on education (2004) emphasized the

need for functional education and self-reliance, by stressing the imperativeness of ourtertiary institutions (polytechnics) to establish or provide forms of education that fulfil thisdesire, and this is through entrepreneurship education programme Henceentrepreneurship was included in OTM programmes to widen the horizons andknowledge of the learner and to meet with the educational objectives in the Policydocument, which among other things, emphasizes acquisition of appropriate skills,abilities and competences both mental and physical as equipment for the individuals tolive in and contribute immensely to the development of the society (Magaji, 2010)

To make the implementation of the new programme easy, the NBTE in Esene(2011) spelt out the general objectives of the course-programme The generalobjectives, according to NBTE are:

(a) To equip the students with the knowledge, competencies and specific skillsthat will enable them to successfully hold positions as secretaries, managers,and administrative assistants in both private and public sectors of theNigerian economy;

(b) To expose students to industrial experience thereby affording them anopportunity to practicalize their skills;

(c) To develop in them an occupational intelligence that will enable them to beversatile and adaptable to the changing situation in the business world;

(d) To develop their potentials for further academic and professional pursuits

In line with these objectives, OTM provides the recipients with information thatmakes them effective consumers of goods and services (education about business) andalso prepares the recipients for effective roles as participants in the business system of

economy as managers of their own business (education for business) It is, however,stressed that OTM programme should, in addition to these roles, also prepare thestudents with necessary skills and knowledge to take effective part in theentrepreneurial venture, thus making the graduates of OTM to be job providers ratherthan job seekers, employers of labour rather than employees (Umemezia, 2006).Furthermore, the acquisition of technical, together with managerial skills will equipstudents with work competencies, technical, psycho-social and management skillswhich are very essential for every day interaction in business situations and with others(Adelakin, 2009) Ohakwe and Njoku, (2009) reiterated that OTM programme isdesigned to equip students with secretarial/office skills for employment in various fields

of endeavour The students of this programme, the authors further stated, are exposed

to courses in their special areas as well as courses in general education andentrepreneurship to make them entrepreneurs

The OTM graduates, as potential entrepreneurs according to Esene, requirespecific skills and competencies to be successful in their entrepreneurial endeavours.Okoro and Amagoh, (2008); Onyekonwe,2008, Uche, 2008, Ezeh, 2011 and Esene,(2011) were in agreement that the OTM graduates require entrepreneurial skills in thefollowing areas: ICT, Office practice, Data Processing, word Processing; Managerial;accounting and finance; Marketing and Sales; General Business; technical; BusinessManagement and Personal entrepreneurial skills Furthermore, Esene, (2011), positedthat the entrepreneurs need personal qualities such as self-reliance, ability to identifyand exploit opportunities, creativity, willingness to take chances, even if it means toexpose oneself to risk and personal drive According to Esene in Esene (2011), it is

hoped that Polytechnic graduates who have successfully passed through their programme must have acq1uired the relevant knowledge, skills and competencies tohold positions in both private and public sectors of the economy as secretaries (Officeprofessionals), office supervisors, office managers, administrative managers,administrative assistants, administrative secretaries, personal assistants, computeroperators, computer analysts, computer programmers, sales managers, salessupervisors, sales representatives and so on, the list seem endless

course-Office Technology and Management (OTM) programme is newly designed by theNational Board for Technical Education in conjunction with UNESCO (2004) to replacethe secretarial studies programme At the inception of the Nigerian polytechnic system

of education, Secretarial Studies was one of the foremost courses that were mountedalongside several other courses in the polytechnics both at the National Diploma andHigher National Diploma levels The OTM programme is designed to equip secretarialand office students to acquire vocational skills in Office Technology and Managementand socio-psychological work skills for employment in various fields of endeavour(NBTE 2006) The new programme amidst numerous changes is loaded with severalcourses in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) alongside otherprofessional courses where the graduates can develop entrepreneurship interest ongraduation for independent and sustainable living

Entrepreneurship is the process of creating and building something of value frompractically nothing which is of benefit to individual, groups, organization and society(Timmons, 2004) It also involves creating incremental wealth by individuals whoassume the major roles of building experiences on a new business ground NigerianInstitute of Management ‘NIM’ (2005) confirmed the significance of experience inentrepreneurship and that certain kinds of experiences and situational conditions rather

than personality or ego are the major determinants of whether an individual becomes anentrepreneur or not The experience begins when an individual starts up a businessventure to break a new business ground Diamanto (2005) suggested thatentrepreneurs who have been involved in staring up and managing ventures are morelikely to be successful and effective in entrepreneurship pursuit Success andeffectiveness of an entrepreneur is not far-fetched from his knowledge.

Entrepreneurial learning is often described as a continuous process thatfacilitates the development of necessary knowledge for being effective in starting up andmanaging new ventures The knowledge of an entrepreneur as a result of years ofexperience helps in prompt recognition of business opportunities and coping withliabilities of newness The needs for entrepreneurial knowledge among others includethe development of the individual in acquiring necessary capital, the acquisition ofrequisite technical knowledge and essential managerial know-how The NigerianInstitute on Management ‘NIM’ (2005) listed the major roles of entrepreneurs in aneconomy to include; identification of business opportunities and organize the resources

to tap them, careful implementation of business plan as a result of entrepreneurialexperience and knowledge, the monitor and response to changes, liabilities, threats andopportunities in the environment The acquisition of necessary entrepreneurial skillsthrough experiences leads to knowledge and saleable skills capable of improvingemployment opportunity of the Polytechnics OTM graduates on graduation from theschool Skills are basic ability by which man adjust to life A person’s attitude and workfunctions are required and necessary antidotes suggesting the suitable skillsperformance and acquisition of same by going through a given work sample

Careful identification of business opportunities and organization of neededresources to tap them is both explorative and exploitative This occurs in entrepreneurs’transformation process of resources inputs to outputs (products) Kang and Klaus