BUSINESS EDUCATION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SKILLS ACQUISITION IN DIGITAL ERA

Abstract

The paper discussed the link between poverty and unemployment in Nigeria. Unemployment is one of the most difficult economic challenges facing Nigeria and its people, and it is the greatest obstacle to sustainable socio-economic development, security and peaceful co-existence in the country. When people acquire skills and are gainfully employed, level of poverty is reduced. Business education helps to create employment and reduce poverty as it leads to acquisition of practical and applied skills. The paper further discussed entrepreneurship and the need for entrepreneurs to think outside the box to be successful. Skills acquisition in a digital era, resources needed for business education skills acquisition, business education curriculum and skills acquisition, instructional delivery and skills acquisition and funding business education for skills acquisition were discussed. The paper concluded that there is no doubt the digital environment can be helpful in the acquisition of business education/entrepreneurship skills. Work is done faster, neater and in less time in a digital environment than in a manual environment. Six recommendations were made. One of them is that the law establishing the Industrial Training Fund should be amended to make the supply of equipment to institutions running business education and other vocational programmes as part of the mandates of the Fund.