Harnessing Entrepreneurial Education in the Technical Universities: A Panacea to Youth Unemployment

Abstract

Entrepreneurship, in developing countries like Ghana, is vital to development of the country. Ghana has human resource capable of retrieving, processing and utilizing her natural resources for economic development. Yet, Ghana as a developing country is grappling with poverty and unemployment. The educational system and its curricula activities as well as the various associated training programmes in the country, are generally geared towards preparing the youth for white color jobs other than self-employment skills. This paper therefore focuses on entrepreneurial education with the emphasis on equipping the youth with skills and competence needed to enhance their economic status. The methodology used was descriptive and quantitative. The sample population was drawn from graduate students of three Technical Universities (TUs). The paper looked at the integration of entrepreneurial education programmes in the TUs curricula towards addressing job creation. It was found out that, the Ghanaian educational system has not been a force to reckon with when it comes to equipping the students or graduates with the requisite skills and competencies to develop themselves economically and career wise so as to produce graduates who are independent. This paper brings to the fore the fact that, in order to curb the unemployment situation in the country, emphasis should be laid on entrepreneurial education to develop the mind-set of the youth towards employment. Some recommendations were made for the youth to be self-reliant.