Entrepreneurship Education: The Questions of What, When, and How

The various efforts of the Malaysian government to produce more entrepreneurs among the youth have unfortunately failed to achieve the intended impact. A report by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education in 2017, shows that only 2% of university graduates opt to become entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the International Labor Organization reports the Malaysian youth unemployment in 2017, represents a staggering number of 237,400 persons. These statistics raise questions on the role of Malaysian entrepreneurship education in producing new entrepreneurs. Hence, this conceptual paper attempts to explore the role of entrepreneurship education by clarifying the important elements in education and examining the impact on entrepreneurial intention as the best determinant of entrepreneurial behaviour. By reviewing the secondary data from various articles and books, this research illustrates the key findings graphically. The result of this paper indicates that entrepreneurship education should be cultivated at an early age to ensure adequate exposure to entrepreneurial skills and knowledge. This paper also suggests ways and approaches to reveal young individuals with entrepreneurial intention, which is identified as the best predictor of entrepreneurial behaviour. Ultimately, through the findings of this research, the authors aim to deliver the best methods of educating young individuals to encourage them to become entrepreneurs