Entrepreneurial Skills Development Strategies through the Mandatory Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme in Nigeria

AbstractTechnical vocational education and training (TVET) plays an important role in shaping a nation's intellectual human capital. In today's world, TVET has undergone several transformations in fulfilling its tasks to produce excellent, competitive and skilful human capital. The paper identifies strategies to be used in enhancing skills-acquisition of undergraduate TVET students through improved collaboration with industries in Nigeria. It reviewed two prominent forms of technical cooperation that exist between HEIs and industries in Nigeria, vis-a-vis endowment of chairs and other research positions to promote excellence and provision of Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) positions to undergraduate students. This practice is continuously yielding positive results within the mandate of Industrial Training Fund (ITF). The current trend in TVET places much emphasis on entrepreneurship education to promote creativity and poverty alleviation strategies that will generate job-creation avenues to Nigeria's teeming graduates. The paper discussed entrepreneurial education as an instrument per excellent to unlock economic potentials of Nigerian citizens through innovative collaboration with the industry. It advocated for a review of SIWES program to develop entrepreneurial skills that contributes to an individual's personal development, increase his productivity and income and facilitate participation in economic and social life. It was recommended that all hands should be on deck to help our youths mitigate poverty by providing them with skills; entrepreneurial attitude and knowledge to raise their output and generate income. This calls for continued lifelong learning and training to enable continuous relevance to the world of work. In conclusion, the authors stressed that the idea was to support practical acquisition of life skills, to make employees more aware of the context of their work and better able to seize opportunities, and to provide a foundation for entrepreneurs in setting up social or commercial activities