Psychometric Evaluation of Networking and Marketing Work Skills as Predictors of Entrepreneurial Capabilities among Technical College Graduates in South-South Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of possessed work skills on entrepreneurial capabilities among technical college graduates in South-South Nigeria. Two research questions were raised, and two hypotheses were formulated and tested at the 0.05 level of significance. A causal comparative research design was adopted for the study. The population of this study comprises a total of 1,837 graduates (Vocational III students) from all government-owned technical colleges in the six states of South-South Nigeria during the 2022/2023 academic session. The sample size of the study consists of 340 technical college graduates and 26 principals from 12 technical colleges selected from the six states in South-South Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used in the study. Data for this study were collected using a questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the instrument were determined using the internal consistency method, and the reliability coefficients obtained were: 0.74 for the Networking Skills scale, 0.81 for the Marketing Skills scale, and 0.87 for the Entrepreneurial capabilities Scale. Copies of the instruments were administered to 370 technical college graduates and principals, retrieved and used for data analysis. Pearson’s coefficient of determination was used to answer the research questions, and the hypotheses were tested using the linear and multiple regression statistics at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that there was a significant relationship between networking work skills and the entrepreneurial capabilities of technical college graduates in South-South Nigeria, and that there was a significant relationship between marketing work skills and the entrepreneurial capabilities of technical college graduates in South-South Nigeria. It was recommended on the basis of the findings that technical college curricula in South-South Nigeria be systematically restructured to place greater emphasis on the psychometric development and instructional strengthening of marketing competencies.