APPROACHES FOR IMPROVING BUSINESS EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN BRIDGING SKILLS GAP AND TACKLING GRADUATES’ UNEMPLOYMENT IN ABIA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined approaches for improving the Business Education curriculum in bridging skills gap and tackling graduates’ unemployment in Abia State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses. The design of the study was a survey research design of descriptive type. The population for the study was 88, comprising 15 Business Educators and 73 final year Business Education students. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire that was validated by three experts. The overall reliability of the instrument was 0.84 obtained using Cronbach's Alpha statistics. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while t-test statistics were used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed among others that curriculum reform approaches for improving Business Education in tackling skills gap and graduates’ unemployment include: review of Business Education curriculum to integrate digital skills such as social media marketing, e-commerce and cybersecurity, incorporating entrepreneurship modules into the curriculum to inspire Business Education students to develop skills such as business planning, incorporating activities like project-based learning, role-playing, and business games to make learning more engaging and effective, ensuring the effectiveness of SIWES as a key component of Business Education curriculum. Based on the findings, it was recommended that there is a need for federal and state ministries of education, with the joint efforts of tertiary institutions and curriculum planners, to ensure Business Education curriculum reform in bridging skills gap and tackling graduates’ unemployment in Abia State