Entrepreneurship or Paid Employment: The Post-School Job Preference of Undergraduates in Nigerian Public Universities

Abstract

Post-graduation employment has been of great concern to students, teachers, and parents. This is because of the stiff competition in the contemporary labour market. The job preference of students informs their post-graduation expectations and interests. This study, therefore, assessed the post-school job preference of undergraduates in Nigerian public universities using the survey approach of quantitative design. The population was the six south-west states of Nigeria having 17 public universities in the zone, and comprising of 12,890 male and 13,966 female final year undergraduates of the universities. Using the simple random sampling technique, three public universities were selected. Furthermore, 1,500 final year undergraduates were selected using the criterion purposive sampling technique. The Undergraduates’ Job Preference Scale (UNJOP-S), a 20-item questionnaire, was designed and administered. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to answer the research question and hypothesis respectively. The study found that paid employment was the most preferred job of undergraduates. It equally showed a significant relationship between entrepreneurship education and measures of undergraduates’ job preference. Consequently, entrepreneurial content should be incorporated in every discipline to shape the undergraduates’ job preference towards entrepreneurial endeavours after graduation, as this will change their orientation for entrepreneurial activities and facilitate the school-to-work transition.