Employability Skills Needed By Office Technology and Management Graduates for Entrepreneurship and Gainful Employment in Nigeria

This study investigated employability skills needed by Office Technology and Management graduates for entrepreneurship and gainful employment as perceived by stakeholders in South-Western, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was used for this study. Two research questions guided the study. The population comprised 120 OTM lecturers, 69 directors and 10,339 registered entrepreneurs, totaling 10,528 respondents. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 78 OTM lecturers, 34 directors and 115 registered entrepreneurs, totaling 227 respondents. The instrument for data collection was a 20-item structured questionnaire based on four-point modified Likert rating scale format. The instrument was validated by three experts. The questionnaire was distributed to the respondents with the aid of research assistants. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the data collected. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that most of the communication and ICT skills identified in the study were indispensable to entrepreneurship success and gainful employment in contemporary world of business and work. The study recommended that curriculum developers should incorporate more elements of communication and ICT skills into OTM curriculum, in order to equip graduates with the skills needed to secure gainful employment and succeed in contemporary world of business and there should be periodic curriculum updates to accommodate new skills needed by OTM graduates to excel in a dynamic technological world