Challenge of integrating entrepreneurial competencies into technical college programs

Abstract

For a country to keep abreast of being competitive in global economy technical and vocational education must play a critical role. For long time, technical and vocational education disciplines have been in cache, living graduates unable to connect learned knowledge with real life problems. The emergence of integrating technical education with entrepreneurial competencies in some institutions in Nigeria advocates transformative changes both at the conceptual and technological levels. One of the challenge facing technical education in Nigeria is lack of appropriate entrepreneurial competencies in the content of technical college curriculum. The purpose of the study was to explore the challenge facing the integration of entrepreneurial competencies into the technical college curriculum. This study uses phenomenological research design method was guided by interview protocol, thus the data were qualitatively collected. This research involved ten experts from three technical institutions in Kano state Nigeria based on their educational background, field of teaching and experience in entrepreneurship education. The study found that poor funding, lack of qualified teachers, inappropriate curriculum and negative attitude toward on entrepreneurship education are the main challenges hindering the integration of entrepreneurial competencies into technical college programs in Nigeria. It is recommended that the need for an appropriate entrepreneurial competencies for technical college programs this will facilitate easy and rapid self-employment among the graduates to enable them become novice entrepreneurs for self-reliance. Consequently, 20 per cent of public expenditure should be allocated to bridge the gap in funding education.